2 days Ago By Phoebe Gwangilo
THE escalating tribal fight in Porgera Valley and suspension of the New Porgera Gold Mine could have been prevented from the start if there was a show of leadership. Kandep MP Don Polye raised this in light of the fact that the Porgera-Paiela Open Seat is still left vacant following the death of the sitting MP Maso Karipe last year. Leadership must be strengthened in all the institutions of governance to minimise law and order issues that turn into a bizarre situation, Mr Polye told media that Porgera is confronted with escalating violence because of a lack of leadership on the ground.
“Leadership deficiency is systematic and causing a host of problems and challenges, “he said. According to him, these grey areas include systematic governance and systemic leadership failure, lack of resourcing and empowerment and lack of competent leadership that is causing law and order breakdown within districts and rural communities. Polye said: “National Government controlled systems and institutions of governance and leadership must be strengthened and protected.
“Public service systems must be aligned with the provincial and the LLG systems of government and delivery. In most facets, the linkage and partnership does not exist due to a culture of complacency or lack of resourcing and empowerment. He also blamed the situation on what he described as unnecessary positions created and functions duplicated at the national level without building capacity at the grass roots level.
“Provincial affairs, petroleum and mining, national planning and rural development, rural policing, electoral commission, ombudsman commission, the judiciary, corrective institutional services, social and business development, family welfare, youth development, narcotics and anti- drug functions are some of the glaring examples of a huge lack in the district, villages and the wards, LLG”s and the family households. He added that the LLG which is the third-tier governance system must be properly funded to function. “As a result, the system collapsed on itself, forcing the MPs to become project managers.
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