Women call on Somare group to be in parliament

By JEFFREY ELAPA
WOMEN leaders have called on the faction led by Sir Michael Somare to attend today’s parliament session and pass important bills.
The women leaders led by Women in Politics president Maria Hayes, National Council of Women president Scollar Kakas and Lady Shirley Morgish said important bills such as the Equality and Participation Bill plus the 2012 national budget needed to be passed.
They said the amendment to the Constitution on the Equality and Participation Bill had been passed. The enabling legislations should also be passed before the 2012 election.
They called on all the members of parliament irrespective of where they sit to pass the enabling legislation on the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Government election.
As elected members of parliament, they had a responsibility to serve the people in parliament and not to operate from outside.
There was already a government in place and there was no need to cry foul over issues but work together for the common good of the country by attending parliament.
Meanwhile, Vanimo-Green MP Belden Namah assured the women leaders that his faction supported the enabling the laws.
He said the first part had been passed and they would also do
the same to the second part.