THE Leader of the Opposition Belden Namah has called on Prime Minister James Marape and National Pandemic Controller, David Manning to resign immediately for breaching the Constitution and trivializing the rights of freedoms of Papua New Guineans.
Mr Namah said the Prime Minister and the Controller had overstepped their authority and mandate when they tried to force vaccination upon citizens as a precondition for travelling within the provinces in the country.
“This is in direct violation of Section 52 (1) of the Constitution. Section 52: Rights of freedom of movement.”
- Reads: “… no citizen may be deprived of the right to move freely throughout the country, to reside in any part of the country and may enter and leave the country except in consequence of a law for deprivation of personal liberty in accordance with Section 42 (Liberty of Persons) of the Constitution.
Mr Namah said the order by Mr Manning of June 30th 2021 clearly, unequivocally and with premeditated breaks with constitutional right and freedom of every citizen in the country.
The order reads in part: “No unvaccinated person may travel from one province in PNG to another except for persons with a valid reason for travel and who have approval from the Controller, his delegate or an administrator from the province from which the person’s journey begins.”
The Order was made pursuant to Section 9 of the National pandemic Act 2020.
“This is draconian and a direct assault on the rights and freedoms of our citizens,” Mr Namah said.
“The Prime Minister must bear the blame and take full responsibility for this grievous offence. He must resign in disgrace.
“An apology from Mr. Manning shortly after the Order was released, as if this is just a simple oversight to be disregarded with a shrug, shows the sheer incompetence of the Controller,” Mr Namah said.
“An apology is insufficient for this serious breach of the Constitution and for trivializing the freedom of movement of citizens.
“If the Prime Minister does not deal with this matter seriously than he cannot be taken seriously. He is the head of government.
“The rights and freedoms of our people must never be trifled with. The Controller is on record and there is an official order under stamp and authority of the Controller which states that unvaccinated people may not travel between provinces.
“For Mr Manning to later apologies and blame the offence on the drafting mistake is unacceptable and clear admittance of his incompetence as Police Commissioner and Pandemic Controller.”
Mr Namah said the actions of the Pandemic Controller, Mr Manning, Prime Minister, James Marape and his executive government is highly dangerous as it clearly shows that they think the Pandemic Act is superior than the Constitution.
“All Ministers and Members of parliament in government must make their views known publicly or share the blame with Marape and Manning for their ascent by remaining silent on the issue,” he said.
Mr Namah also call on the National Court Registry to bring forward and list his case against the National Pandemic Act so it can be dealt with early as the existence of this law is giving rise to serious breaches of human rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.
Powerful opposition leader.
It clearly shows that PM JM and the Controller think the Pandemic Act is superior than the Constitution.
This country cannot be controlled like the small Constabulary Institution or the trouble riffled Hela Province.
They have to retract their memo with a public apology.
Couldn’t agree more Mr. Opposition Leader. The PM as the CEO of this country and representative of the Constitution has a duty to uphold and respect the constitution given any circumstances. This act clearly shows incompetency and lack of responsible leadership at the executive level of the government. How could we ordinary citizens trust a PM and his politically appointed commissioner who breaches the constitution and later apologies to the nation as if this was just breaching of any other laws?
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