Unseat Pangu: Namah – The National

By MICHAEL PHILIP
OPPOSITION Leader and Papua New Guinea (PNG) Party leader Belden Namah claims that the Pangu Pati-led Government has borrowed too much.
“They must, therefore, refrain from returning Pangu Pati candidates to Parliament in General Election 2022 (GE22),” he added.
Namah said when the late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare was prime minister, the country’s debt was K8.6 billion.
“Somare managed the debt well with prudent financial management.
“But when the People’s National Congress (PNC) party took over the Government, the debt ballooned to K26 billion (or up K17.4 billion).
“When Pangu Pati took over on May 30, 2019, the debt ballooned further to K53 billion (up K27 billion),” he added.
Namah was speaking at a PNG Party rally in Ratavul village in Kokopo, East New Britain, this week.
He said the Pangu Pati, in the past three years, borrowed K27 billion but “there are no investments or development to show”.
Meanwhile, Namah told The National that his party would amend the country’s Constitution to allow religion to be a department of its own and one-tenth of the national budget would be allocated to boost the work of spreading the gospel .
“I will remove religion from the Community Development and Religion Department and a new ministry for religion,” he added.
“The department will be ministered by the Papua New Guinea Council of Churches.”

Country still struggling, broken, Sir Peter says

From left: Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas, National Capital District regional candidate Sylvia Pascoe, Moresby North-East candidate Tanya Bale and Moresby North-West candidate Anna Bais. The three women, and Moresby South candidate Michelle Hau’ofa, are contesting the General Election 2022 under the People’s Party banner led by Sir Peter Ipatas. – Nationalpic by NICKY BERNARD

By LULU MAGINDE
SIR Peter Ipatas says the country is almost 50 years old but is still struggling to find its way forward.
Sir Peter, the founder of the People’s Party, also said the country was “broken”.
“It is time to vote for leaders who will serve this country,” he said.
He was in Port Moresby yesterday to support the party’s four women candidates – Tanya Bale (Moresby North-East), Michelle Hau’ofa (Moresby South), Anna Bais (Moresby North-West) and Sylvia Pascoe (Regional).
“It is why I have come to the nation’s capital to give the four women a chance to provide that service to you.”
On the challenges faced by people in the National Capital District, he said corruption was “visible everywhere in the city”.
He therefore urged voters to elect parties and leaders who show strong leadership qualities and abhor corruption.
Sir Peter, the Enga Governor, said during his 25 years in politics, he had never stolen from the country or the people, which was evident in the province’s progress.
He vowed to continue fighting for the people because he was concerned about the plight of future generations “who will have to deal with the legacy of corruption, shortage of opportunities and crumbling infrastructure”.
“I do not buy votes, or entice (people) to vote for me with lamb flaps or coke,” he said.
“I have been freely given the mandate for the past 25 years by the people of Enga.
“And because of that, I have spent 100 per cent of my time thinking about my people and province.”
He estimates that each year, 18,000 high school leavers try to secure spots in universities and colleges, or try to find employment in the constricted job market.