Dear ACT NOW! member,
Although Papua New Guinea's Parliament has now risen, the controversy over the government's attacks on our Constitution and democracy has not abated.
The Ombudsman Commission has stated that MPs could face 10 years in jail for their failure to ensure that Parliament sat for a minimum of 63 days in the last 12 months. But the Ombudsman Commission has also conceded that it does not have the resources to investigate and charge all 109 MPs!
Morobe Governor Luther Wenge says he would be happy to be a witness for the Ombudsman if it does investigate and he thinks Parliament has only sat for 30 days in the last year.
Remember you can still show your disapproval for the way the government is undermining democracy by sending an email to MP Sam Basil who still continues to speak out on corruption issues. Remember your email will be automatically copied to the Prime Minister and other senior Ministers.
Already over 100 emails have been send, and MP Sam Basil has told us how much he apprecaite the support with this message on Facebook
Thanks for your support I am reading every bit of your messages. From my heart thanks and I know I am not alone so I will keep on going for the silent majority!
It is really quick and easy to send an email so please ACT NOW!.
The National Alliance party has also deferred indefinately its planned annual convention amid fears the Prime Minister could been voted out as NA leader. Convention organisers are reportedly not happy about the K500,000 that has been wasted on preparations for the meeting, although the battle for the PMs post "still rages on".
More concerning are the continued reports that the cancelled National Census and the poor state of the Electoral Role mean there is very little chance the 2012 election will be free and fair for everyone.
Other recent media stories about the poor state of democracy in PNG include:
- Old fox fights them here and fights them there
- Speaker is killing democracy
- Democracy flows from stability of the land
- Supreme Court urged to deal with PMs appeal
- Shakespeare's sage advice for PNG pollies
- Arthur groomed to take over
- I didn't go into Parliament to sit and watch
There will shortly be a whole new campaign section on the ACT NOW! website about the ways in which the government is undermining the Constitution and democracy in PNG.
In the mean time, please remember don't hesitate to get in contact with any other ideas you have about how to improve the website.
The ACT NOW! team