Sir Julius eager to fight corruption in province

NEW Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan is calling on the national government’s anti-corruption team, the Task Force Sweep to work with his provincial government to weed out corruption.
The call was made following the establishment of a New Ireland election sweep team to crackdown on candidates who continuously provided deliberate misinformation to the public and slandered their opponents in the 2012 general election.
In a recent inaugural address to the 22nd provincial assembly, the former prime minister told assembly members the recent election was a disappointment in some ways.
“I am saddened at the behaviour of many of the candidates who continuously provided deliberate misinformation to the public and slandered their opponents,” Sir Julius said.
“I have established by PEC decision No: 80 dated Aug 24, a New Ireland election sweep team – with a view to engage an independent investigator that will weigh complaints and allegations of wrongdoing during the election.”
In support of provincial administrator Monovi Amani’s recent outburst on the issue, Sir Julius said: “We cannot allow these corrupt practices to go unpunished.
“A full investigation will make sure that the basic trust of the people in the electoral process is preserved and not abused.”
In his state of the nation address, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said his government was “serious about stamping out corruption at all levels and all sectors of our nation”.
“No entity, including persons involved in corrupt practices in both the public and private sector, will be spared in this anti-corruption operation.”
As much as the government is critical of establishing the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) and the anti-corruption programme, Sir Julius welcomed the move.