By ZEBEDEE KUMPIO
PRIME Minister James Marape has received a petition presented by the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) Student Representative Council (SRC) at the UPNG Forum Square today.
He was accompanied by Minister for Internal Security Minister, Hon. Peter Tsiamalili Jnr, Coffee Minister, Hon. William Bando, Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (HERST), Hon. Kinoka Feo, and Secretary for the DHERST, Fr Jan Czuba.
The main issues raised in the petition include; foreign exchange, inflation, law and order, and education scholarships programs (HECAS/TESAS).
UPNG SRC President Mr. Joel Rimbu said the SRC took a peaceful approach to voice their concerns, by avoiding protests in the streets.
He said recommendations were presented alongside the issues in the petition and urged the Prime Minister to address them at the National Executive Council (NEC) level.
“I ask the Prime Minister and the NEC to please hear our voices; we have a future, and PNG is our home,” Rimbu said.
“We bring a message to you that the country has issues, and we want improvements in the state of our economy and law and order.
“The government must take control and ensure every institution of the government is functioning properly.”
PM Marape commended the SRC and the students for their approach and manner in which the petition was drafted and presented.
“I have quickly looked through the petition that you have given, and I want to say there’s a lot of maturity in the manner in which it was drafted,” Marape said.
“You raised issues and also offered solutions and that’s commendable,” said the Prime Minister.
“In 1991, I was a student here in this forum square; we were only 16 years old as a nation then, but we were not this orderly.
“We had an issue, and we took to the streets,” Marape recalled.
“It caused six months of school suspension; in fact, the entire academic year in 1991 was shut down, forcing students to miss out on studies until they could find spaces in the following years.”
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the four main issues raised are important but noted that there are many other associated points that are common in society.
He added that the petition deserves a detailed response, and he will take it to the Cabinet, sit with the responsible government departments, and respond on the 9th of September.
