Who has the PNGRFL chair?

Normal, Sports
Source:

The National – Friday, December 3, 2010

IT may sound surreal but former Madang rugby league executive and PNGRFL board member Bryan Kramer could very well be the new duly elected chairman of the PNGRFL.
And he may have got there simply by following the PNGRFL constitution and law – the letter of the law.
Back in July when the PNGRFL executive office was in danger of being ripped apart by a tug of war between incumbent Albert Veratau and Gary Juffa’s claim to the chairmanship of the organisation, a mediation was called for by a very concerned Sports Minister Philemon Embel and involved a representative from the International Rugby League Federation.
It is important to note that all zone representatives as well as the PNGRFL operations manager Joe Tokam were present at this gathering.
The outcome was that both sides agreed to an armistice where Veratau and Juffa would share important decision making responsibilities of the organisation while a third man, John Numapo, was appointed to act as a neutral in the triumvirate called the interim committee.
Importantly, a court order had earlier been signed by judge Ambeng Kandakasi, when the matter was in court, which stipulated 12 points for everyone to follow.
These were consent orders meaning both parties had agreed to adhere to, after mediation, the court document.
Point nine ordered the 2010 AGM to be held on the last Sunday of November, which was Nov 28.
Last Sunday, the AGM took place in Lae as per that court order but many leagues did not or could not attend.
Confusion had arisen because in the weeks leading up to the set date, PNGRFL interim committee chairman Numapo had advised Tokam to push the date forward to Jan 30 because of the pervading opinion that the majority of leagues, especially in the highlands, were simply not prepared to attend the AGM.
But Kramer counters that everyone including Tokam, Numapo, Juffa and Veratau had agreed to honour the court order and further were told to prepare the zones for this event.
Both Numapo and Juffa are of the firm belief that  a deferral of the AGM is not only a fair outcome for all stakeholders but it will give them the opportunity to participate in the AGM to: 1) elect a new PNGRFL chairman; 2) table the financial report for 2010; 3) have as many nominees for the chairmanship; and 4) see as many affiliates in such an important event.
They also believed that course of action was in accordance with the PNGRFL constitution.
However, Islands and Northern zone leagues claimed to be prepared for the Nov 28 date but Tokam denied they had affiliated simply because he had not received their papers.
Tokam is the highlands zone development officer.
If it is a matter of being prepared and organised for the AGM, then half the affiliates in the country did their job while the other half did not.
The question is should the PNGRFL AGM be held back because of the ineptitude of some?