by Delly Bagu – EM TV, Port Moresby
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has condemned what he calls ‘misinformation’ from the Opposition, used to deceive the public over the state of emergency in relation to PNG Power.
In a statement today, he described the attitude of the Opposition as ‘appalling’ at a time when the government was making firm gains to right the wrongs of past neglect.
The Prime Minister has defended the state of emergency, describing it as an essential action that is restoring services to those consumers being denied access to power and putting an end to electricity theft.
The Opposition has been scolded by Prime Minister O’Neill for what he described as the Opposition’s “do-nothing attitude”.
These strong words come as Opposition leader Don Polye and member Mark Maipakai questioned the government’s move to declare a state of emergency.
Yesterday, Minister responsible for the state of emergency, Ben Micah said the action was more than just about money. Mr O’Neill said the state of emergency was established under the Essential Services Act to restore confidence in services and to ensure reliability of power supply.
He reiterated that there is no army callout and that the only policing requirement would be in the event that PNG Power workers were prevented from carrying out their legitimate duties.
Mr O’Neill said slammed members of the Opposition, saying they would rather sit back and do nothing while there are people stealing electricity and getting away with it. He said the government has acted in a stern but firm manner to stop the stealing.
Mr Micah said a progressive situation report will be published in the daily newspapers to highlight the positive results achieved by the state of emergency.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QlHcDoLrkcA%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque%26showinfo%3D0%26showsearch%3D0%26rel%3D0
