Prime Minister James Marape yesterday responded to Peter O’Neill’s “Retirement” pledge from politics in 2027 if elected Prime Minister via a Vote of No Confidence.
Mr Marape described this as “a hollow political gimmick from a man who has repeatedly betrayed the nation’s trust”.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed that his Government’s focus remained on national stability, economic growth, and institutional strengthening, not on personalities.
“A Vote of No Confidence should be about the nation’s future not a vehicle for one man’s redemption story. The people of Papua New Guinea deserve leadership that builds, not leadership that manipulates and divides, ”Mr Marape said.
He added that O’Neill’s “retirement promise” was merely a tactical narrative designed to lure MPs and the public into forgetting his record of abuse and corruption.
“He said similar things before 2011, before 2017, and again before 2019 yet he never walked away when the people wanted accountability. PNG knows this pattern too well,” Mr Marape said.
“Papua New Guineans are not fools. We remember the very man who now speaks of ‘renewal’ was the architect of the greatest erosion of integrity and accountability in our democracy. He presided over unauthorized loans, deepened national debt, compromised our institutions, and left our people poorer.
“Now, when the same man says he will ‘retire’ if he regains power, we ask: how can we trust someone who never kept his word when he was in power for eight long years? Prime Minister Marape said O’Neill’s attempt to paint himself as a reformer was an insult to the intelligence of Papua New Guineans.”
“This is the same person who tried to escape arrest warrants, intimidated the Police hierarchy, and captured State institutions for his own political survival. His record speaks louder than his promises.”
He added that there were capable leaders in the Opposition and it was misleading for Mr O’Neill to pretend he was the only capable leader left in the country.
“Let’s be honest, the Opposition has some capable and seasoned leaders. For instance, Kerenga Kua, and the current Opposition Leader Hon. Douglas Tomuriesa, along with others like Allan Bird and Dr Lino Tom, are genuine advocates for Papua New Guinea, PM Marape said.
If the ever-ambitious Ialibu-Pangia MP truly cared about the country, he would rally behind these competent younger leaders as alternate choices, rather than trying to resurrect himself as the nation’s only savior.
The Prime Minister said it was time for a new generation of leaders to be promoted and supported to step forward.
“Enough of the same old faces reinventing themselves just to cling to power and protect personal interests. The nation deserves forward-looking leadership, not political recycling,” Mr Marape said.
“We are building a country owned by its people not mortgaged to cronies or foreign financiers. That is the true difference between my leadership and his nostalgia for power.”
The Prime Minister called on all Members of Parliament to remain united in protecting constitutional democracy and to reject recycled leadership built on deception and self-preservation.
“We must learn from history. Papua New Guinea will not go backwards under recycled promises of redemption. The future belongs to honest, reform-minded leadership not to those who once broke the nation’s trust,” he said.
Mr Marape reiterated his Government’s ongoing reforms to strengthen fiscal independence, fight corruption, localize resource ownership, and empower provinces goals that were abandoned during the O’Neill era.