PNG Opposition Leader Namah calls on Marape-Steven Govt to declare State of Emergency
The Papua New Guinea opposition has called on the national government to introduce a state of emergency and put the nation on emergency footing in order to prevent and contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Opposition leader Belden Namah called on government to recall Parliament and introduce a supplementary budget to combat the economic impact of coronavirus or Covid-19.
Mr Namah said he would introduce a K2 billion stimulus package if he were in government to buttress the nation against the negative economic effects of the coronavirus.
He expressed great disappointment with Prime Minister James Marape’s state of the nation address on Sunday outlining of his government’s strategy and measures to prevent and contain the coronavirus. He described Mr Marape’s measures as “too little, too late”.
“We need to put everything on the table if we want to fight the effects of the coronavirus on our people and on our economy,” he said.
“We had expected the PM’s statement to contain a state of emergency announcement, not an ordinary announcement. If we were in government, we would introduce a state of emergency that would solely outline sets of clear and precise implementation directives that would be set in motion upon their announcement.
“Directives and measures have to be precise and unambiguous, for example, where in Madang and Port Moresby will testing occur? What does the Prime Minister mean by self-quarantine (in PNG’s context)? The directives have to be very thorough from A to Z. What are the steps an infected person(s) should take?
“The Prime Minister and his government have failed to announce the list of hospitals, doctors, the possible charges or is the testing and treatment free? Is it work as usual for the public and private sector? What about schools and colleges? The list goes on. We see no such measures or decisive decisions made by this government to protect its citizens.
“Rather, it continues to allow Air Niugini flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. I am calling on the government to immediately ban all international flights to and from every country except Australia.”
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Opposition leader Belden Namah called on government to recall Parliament and introduce a supplementary budget to combat the economic impact of coronavirus or Covid-19.
Mr Namah said he would introduce a K2 billion stimulus package if he were in government to buttress the nation against the negative economic effects of the coronavirus.
He expressed great disappointment with Prime Minister James Marape’s state of the nation address on Sunday outlining of his government’s strategy and measures to prevent and contain the coronavirus. He described Mr Marape’s measures as “too little, too late”.
“We need to put everything on the table if we want to fight the effects of the coronavirus on our people and on our economy,” he said.
“We had expected the PM’s statement to contain a state of emergency announcement, not an ordinary announcement. If we were in government, we would introduce a state of emergency that would solely outline sets of clear and precise implementation directives that would be set in motion upon their announcement.
“Directives and measures have to be precise and unambiguous, for example, where in Madang and Port Moresby will testing occur? What does the Prime Minister mean by self-quarantine (in PNG’s context)? The directives have to be very thorough from A to Z. What are the steps an infected person(s) should take?
“The Prime Minister and his government have failed to announce the list of hospitals, doctors, the possible charges or is the testing and treatment free? Is it work as usual for the public and private sector? What about schools and colleges? The list goes on. We see no such measures or decisive decisions made by this government to protect its citizens.
“Rather, it continues to allow Air Niugini flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. I am calling on the government to immediately ban all international flights to and from every country except Australia.”
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