By SEPKOLIN WALNE
MEMBER for Abau, Sir Puka Temu, has advised the National Parliament against rushing into constitutional change, stating that major reforms often cause considerable confusion.
Contributing to the debate on the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission (CLRC) report, Sir Puka told the Parliament that the classic example was the 1995 Organic Law on Provincial and Local-level Government.
He stressed that the Organic Law on Provincial and Local-level Government was one of the Constitutional laws that had undergone many amendments because to start with it was badly structured.
“If we push for major reforms, then the country is not ready; our institutions are not prepared to implement and manage the significant changes we aim to introduce, whether motivated by good or bad intentions,” Sir Puka said.
He stated that politics is dictating too many things by an over-politicised, provincialised, and districtalised public service, with appointments made to favour those aligned with us.
” As a result, the instrument that should be the vehicle for delivering public goods and services in this country has been paralysed because of politics,” he said.
Sir Puka emphasised that the country and the Parliament need a well-structured conversation.
He said the executive government should take charge of identifying those issues that will prevent us from making the same mistake as the 1995 reform. “Perhaps the best way to handle it is like what we normally do throughout our Parliamentary democracy, which is to have a team on both sides of the house to go through the report,” Sir Puka said