By Joseph Kapone
I am making my comment now as a concerned Papua New Guinean who is watching helplessly as our two top leaders in the likes of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Opposition Leader Belden Namah sling it out in the media, over the social network and in parliament. Hope it does not get out into the streets of Port Moresby.
PNG is being dragged through the mud the more they continue their fight. The drop in the kina can to an extent be linked to this fight between our two leaders.
Rumours, speculations, guessumptions, expectations, wishes and aspirations are also running around town, from one ear to the next, from one end of the down to the other and back again, magnified, glorified and sensationalised and perhaps exaggerated along the way.
Namah is branding O’Neill and his government a corrupt government. So what’s new? He called the Somare Government (of which O’Neill was a part of) corrupt and he toppled it. Then he became Deputy Prime Minister in O’Neill’s Government and together they became drunk with power, had orgies and enjoyed the spoils of their victory. Using their numerical they bulldozed various changes to our laws. The marraige did not last long and they fell out during the 2012 General Elections and are now on opposite sides slinging mud at each other.
Namah is banking on the Paul Paraka K71 million Fraud case to expose and dispose Prime Minister O’Neill and his government. Namah alleges that O’Neill directed the payments which are deemed illegal and in contempt of a courty order restraining the state and its agents from making any payment to Paul Paraka Lawyers. He produced a letter purportedly signed by O’Neill who has since denied the letter saying it is a forged document.
Now from what I understand, and please anyone correct me if I am wrong, former Secretary Finance Steven Gibson was arrested and charged for making the alleged illegal payment of K71 million – K30 million before the 2012 General Election and K40-plus million in October 2012. Again, correct me if I am wrong, but Gibson acted upon instructions from his political masters. Why hasn’t O’Neill, Minister for Treasury Don Polye and Minister for Finance James Marape been arrested and charged by the sweep team as well. Polye and Marape both gave further instructions for the payout to take place. They and O’Neill are just as guilty, if not more than Gibson.
It is far-fetched and I am surprised that Prime Minister O’Neill thinks the people of Papua New Guinea are gullible enough to believe that his signature was forged. I am sure Polye and Marape being the careful and prudent leaders they are and even more so as strong Seventh Day Adventists, they would have called O’Neill to confirm the payments. I will bet my entire savings (which isn’t much anyway) that O’Neill would have said, “Yes, pay. The money will fund our elections.” I could be wrong but how else am I going to think seeing as such a huge payment was made just before the elections. The payment of the balance afterwards would have been a thank you to Paul Paraka.
This is a pretty clear cut case and the police or Task Force Sweep Team should not have any difficulty whatsoever in completing its investigations and charging everyone. O’Neill, Polye, Marape and Gibson are all involved, directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly. They should be hauled before the Task Force Sweep Team and provide their statements.
However, I want to appeal to the leaders, O’Neill, and especially Polye and Marape, not only as leaders in their own rights but as church leaders of the Seventh Day Adventist faith to come forward and tell the truth.
And for Chairman Sam Koim, if you let this one go then you are a puppet and a spineless, gutless, unethical, dishonest, corrupt and loud-mouthed Papua New Guinean. You are just as corrupt and guilty as those people who swindled millions from the state purse because you and your team have costed us taxpayers millions of kina but have not made one successful prosecution. So my challenge to you is…do you job and do it honestly without fear or favour. You owe this much to your country.
Now both Namah and O’Neill have been calling each other names. Namah has called O’Neill a pathological/serial liar when O’Neill allegedly lied about having signed the letter. Recently in parliament O’Neill denied that a certain PNG Defence Force Lt Colonel Benny was not a relative. Word on the streets is that O’Neill and Benny are maternal first cousins. So if O’Neill has lied about these two things what else has he lied to Papua New Guinea about?
O’Neill on the other hand called Namah a mentally disturbed person. Pretty low for a prime minister when Mr Namah was putting forward issues which needed answers from him. Then lately O’Neill or his hench-men allegedly released information to the media which linked Namah to the sale of the land next to the Jack Pidik park. Copies of Namah’s letter was circulated to the internet (a copy is attached). From a layman’s view that letter does not prove any impropriety on Namah’s part. It simply demonstrates a leader’s intervention in ending what has been a long-standing dispute. As a leader he made a bold and decisive decision. I don’t support Namah but am basically making my opinion based on the letter before me. Please let me know what your views are on this.
On the part of Lt Col Benny what I am reading between the line (and I could be wrong) is that Namah considers Lt Col Benny to be a threat. Is Lt Col Benny siding up with O’Neill? We all know that Namah has a strong support base both within the police and PNGDF. The potential is there for trouble so this has to be handled quickly and sensitively.
Finally, in conclusion, let me remind O’Neill and Namah that you both will have to be made to answer for your actions during the impasse. It is my fervent hope that in the not too distant future when the political leadership changes both of you will be held responsible for your actions. I have not forgotten and I hope PNG has not forgotten how you used your political numbers to treat the judiciary and the National Constitution with so much contempt. Your days are numbered. You cannot hide. You cannot run.
