Several members of Papua New Guinea parliament have thrown their support to change the laws that govern how the Prime Minister is being elected in the country and allow the people to elect the Prime Minister.
The Members who open supported the call for a Constitutional Review and other legislations include the Member for Kandep and Minister for Higher Education Research Science and Technology Don Polye and the Governor of Morobe Luther Wenge.
The other Member of Parliament who also supported the review earlier is the Member for North Fly and Vice Minister for Mining Donald James.
Polye said the system we have adopted in Independence was not the way of life of our people, these laws and systems were colonial law forced on us by people from outside.
He said the Australians are not indigenous, the Americans are not indigenous and the Singaporeans are not indigenous.
They migrated from other places and forced their law and systems on the indigenous people.
“We are indigenous people so PNG is not like them.
The system we obtained isn’t working for us. We are trying to become like them so the time has come for us to review the systems.
The review must be PNG friendly and we blend them with the foreign ways of life,” he said.
Wenge said it was timely that PNG must review the Constitutions and other laws as they are all colonial laws and they have outlived their time and needed to be changed.
He said the executive powers of the Government belonging to the people so the powers to elect the executive arms must be the choice of the people.
He said that it is a trend in the country that the power of becoming the Prime Minister is money and not the power of the people by democratic principles.
“The PM must be elected by the people.
The PM must be left to run the country. We have to vote people who possess leadership qualities who can stand up for this country,” he said.
Prime Minister James Marape also supports the people electing the Prime Minister.
He said the three arms of the country must be reviewed, the judiciary for instance must be relooked at how the National Court and the Supreme Courts are separated, the question of whether to have unilateral or bilateral parliament, review of the provincial government systems and giving more autonomy, relook at the relationship between the legislative and executive government, relook at whether to maintain the British Monarchy and more..
SOURCE: POST COURIER/PACNEWS
