Approved for Release
MEMBER for North Fly Hon. James Donald is calling for the immediate
resignation of Administrative Services Minister Richard Masere over his failure to properly
coordinate and lead the 2024 Census, as well as unanswered questions over his association with the supplier of K17 million tablet contract.
Mr Donald said originally the census was supposed to be from June 17 to June 30, but it is now the second week of August, nearly two months past the deadline.
Mr Donald said: “With all due respect to Minister Masere, I ask him to do the decent thing expected of him as a public official and resign over his handling over the failed census. So many issues have plagued this national event from the start, ranging from unpaid allowances, logistical issues, lack of resources and other technical glitches.
“The biggest one of all that scandalised the whole operation from the start was the payment of K17 million for the 22,000 tablets. The contractor awarded has highly questionable credentials raising suspicion over their ability and background in suppling tablets and gear.
“In addition, highly reliable sources indicate there is a personal connection between the minister and the contractor.
“I call on the minister to resign as I know Prime Minister Marape won’t have the moral integrity to sack him for his failure to execute this important project.”
Mr Donald stated that the census is regrettably just another failed event that was poorly planned, lacked proper resources, and will again fail to answer the age-old question of how many people live in Papua New Guinea.
“I also pin some blame on Mr Marape for setting up Mr Masere to fail from the start. Mr Masere was appointed in January this year and was expected to deliver one of the most significant planning milestones in our calendar in a couple of months.
“It is widely known that politics unnecessarily complicates our bureaucracy and makes simple processes difficult. I believe this ministry was a mistake from the start, and the right thing to do was to leave the planning and execution to the National Statistical Office.
“All the government had to do was ensure NSO received their funding on time. We know this was not the case as just weeks before the launch of the census, NSO were still waiting for outstanding funds.
“And we also know that Mr Masere has also shifted the blame on the Chief Statistician for the lack of results after taking much of the limelight early on,” Mr Donald said.
Mr Donald said that the only reason why some provinces have been progressing well is because of the intervention by provincial governments and district administrations.
Mr Donald said: “Many of our provincial governments had to step in and assist the census officials with resources, funding and other logistical support because the government failed their part. Even simple things like releasing data collection materials from Air Nuigini cargo was too difficult to organise in some cases.
“To make matters worse, the million-kina tablets were widely unused. Even if officials were lucky enough to receive them, most preferred to collect data on the paper and then transfer on to the tablets.
“I call on Minister Masere to resign over his failed handling of the census. It is an utter disgrace we still don’t know our true population in 2024. How incompetent can we be?”
Why didnt government use Ward Recorders for the census? These Recorders already have most of the information for their wards. They are the best government officials on the ground already.