MARCH 24 2022
Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says the late Hon. William Samb was a person who put others ahead of himself.
He said this when paying tribute to the late Goilala MP, Commerce and Industry Minister and Pangu Pati strongman, as the casket laid in state in Parliament today.
PM Marape said this was exemplified when Samb unselfishly gave heavy machinery to North Bougainville on behalf of the people of Goilala recently.
“Samb put country ahead of himself,” he said, further describing the late MP and Minister as his “right hand man”.
“There can be no greater example than his last domestic visit to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
“He handed over K2 million worth of machinery to our lovely people of North Bougainville and he made a profound statement: ‘Benefits, North Bougainville people you will get, but blessings Goilala will receive’.
“To me, that underlined the DNA that ran deep in the leader the Hon. William Samb was.
“The true Christian principle of putting others first, and himself last, putting another district first and his district last.
“As a national leader, he rose to see Bougainvilleans as his own, putting them first and Goilala behind.
“He defined important principles, he defined between blessings and benefits.”
PM Marape said Samb was a leader who helped to raise hope amidst gloom-and-doom, and whose character was embodied in the vision of good governance and honesty.
“Samb belonged to the new generation of leaders who emerged to put the interest of our country first: to take it back from the wrong road we have travelled in recent years, and to put it back on the road where corruption was lesser, where fighting for our natural resources was greater,” he said.
“Taking back more from our revenue to fund developments in all parts of the country was his ideal, including his remote Goilala, and to ensure that people were empowered through SME programmes we have started.
“Taking back PNG from the hands of greed, and the minority few who wanted to get ahead at the expense of the rest of the country, including places like Goilala.
“Samb fanned the flame of hope, he encouraged steadfastness in good governance and honest leadership, and to do more, and to do better, to hold our country to higher standards and greater ideals.”
PM Marape praised Samb for his support in passing the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Act and the Whistleblowers’ Act in 2020.
“Who would have thought that a brother from Goilala would have assisted a brother from Tari?” he said.
“He was my right-hand man trying to make changes for the betterment of our country.
“He didn’t see me as a Tari man, he didn’t see me as a Highlands man, he was truly a Pangu Pati idealist – a party that stands for Papua and New Guinea United.”
PM Marape assured the people of Goilala and Samb’s immediate family that he may have passed on but he had touched the hearts of many people, as seen by the tributes in Parliament today and his haus krai in Port Moresby.
“Thank you very much to the Goilala people for giving a fine leader to this country, a short seven years (as MP), but he has left an indelible mark on this country,” he said.
“We will stand with you in these dark moments and ensure that Goilala continues to get blessings.”
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