JUNE 15 2022
Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says the once-beautiful and peaceful Alotau was lost during the eight years that Peter O’Neill’s People’s National Congress was in power.
He bluntly told this to the people of Alotau today (June 15 2022) when campaigning for his Pangu Pati women candidates Natasha Panta for Alotau Open and Jennifer Rudd for Milne Bay Regional.
An emotional PM Marape revealed how he had personally talked to wanted criminal, the late Tommy Baker, to turn himself in to police, however, this did not happen and Baker was later shot dead by police.
He urged remaining members of the Baker Gang to lay down their guns, take up second chance education, and go into agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, small-scale mining and other small businesses through a Pangu youth scheme to be set up after the elections.
The Prime Minister said he wanted Alotau and Milne Bay to do away with the lawlessness tag that had beset it during the O’Neill regime, and one way to achieve this, was to vote for women candidates.
PM Marape said Panta had proven herself as a senior public servant in Waigani while Rudd was a longtime Kiriwina Local Level Government President who had proven herself as a woman leader in the province.
He urged the people of Alotau and Milne Bay to support his woman candidates for a change for the better.
“Unfortunately, we lost it (Alotau) in the eight years that PNC was in power,” he told a cheering crowd.
“This is undisputed.
“Before PNC came into power, Alotau was a safe place, but during the eight years that PNC was in power, Alotau was lost.
“That’s why the Hon. Charles Abel (Alotau MP now contesting for Milne Bay Regional) moved (out of PNC) and went his own way, I moved out and went my own way, because we had no trust in a leadership of the country we were serving.
“Albert Einstein once said, ‘doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results, is insanity’.
“If they (PNC) didn’t fix up Alotau’s problems, how will they come back and fix it? If they didn’t talk about SMEs before, how will they come back and talk about SMEs? If they didn’t give a second chance to all the school leavers, how can they fix the broken gate?
“We have already seen the PNC DNA. I do not believe in the PNC leadership, maybe another PNC leader is okay. I’ve worked with Mr O’Neill for eight years and his heart is not in the right place, his mind is not in the right place for the country.”
PM Marape said there was a “green revolution” all over Papua New Guinea being spearheaded by Pangu and its coalition partners to give equal opportunities to all people.
“One of the main differences between Pangu, and many other parties today, is a drive to empower our people so that you can have money in your pockets,” he said.
“I don’t want lawlessness to remain here, I want Milne Bay people to have money in your pockets.”
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