By GINNAH MINI
Governor for Morobe, Rainbo Paita has raised questions without notice to the Police Minister to bring back death penalty given the increase of lawlessness in the country.
Mr. Paita said there has been increase in law-and-order issues in the country-particularly, cars getting ransacked after accidents.
He noted the amount of videos circulating on social media about people looting vehicles after accidents in Port Moresby and other parts of the country and described it as ‘a symptom of a degrading society’.
“I was in cabinet when we made the decision to set aside and remove the death penalty, when it was there, and some of us in cabinet argued that it should have been left there as a form of deterrence for our people,” Mr. Paita said.
Mr. Paita questioned the Police Minister whether to bring back death penalty, to deal with the heinous crimes that people are committing in the country as the crime rate is increasing in an alarming rate.
He questioned whether the death penalty can be placed on board for open discussions.
Prime Minister James Marape has responded to the question in place of Police Minister who was absent and said that death penalty was removed in parliament as evidence (globally) has shown that it does not reduce crime.
Mr. Marape said that he will get the police commissioner to present statistics on what he has achieved from 2019 till date.
“If statistics demand that we look at this sort of policy, then we could certainly look at this again,” Mr. Marape said.
He said that improvements have been made in the police sector and they want successful arrest and prosecution of those who commit crimes in the country.
Prime Minister Marape said that he will collect statistics and make a statement to the House in response but made it clear that death penalty is not what the country needs.
Death penalty is never the answer to our growing crime rate in the country. The simple answer is that people are left to fend for themselves and their own survival in remote rural communities who hardly see government services for ages up till today. Many flock into towns and cities for opportunities but end up doing what they think is the way to survive in today’s way of life. It is out of frustration due to lack of opportunities in creating jobs by the government for simple citizens of the land. If citizens needs are well taken care off then we should expect peace and harmony in our communities in both rural and urban centres.
Lastly, the root to this issue is for our leaders to be honest in their dealings and use of people’s money and resources. High level of corruption in politics and administration in PNG is actually fueling the lawlessness in our societies across the land.
Otherwise, implement the death penalty also on corrupt politicians and bureaucrats who squander millions of people’s money. They are as bad as criminals or murderers themselves. In directly our leaders are contributing to the chaos in the country by stealing millions.
When people have money in their pockets from decent employment, they will not need to steal or rob their own people.
Some countries in the world like China, Malaysia and others do public executions of corrupt officials if found guilty by the highest courts of the land.
Can we apply this too in PNG? I believe this is the detergent you and I need to take back PNG. Hard reset is and should not be just talk/cause wara. We need real action to prevail for the sake of our future generations.
Death penalty is never the answer to our growing crime rate in the country. The simple answer is that people are left to fend for themselves and their own survival in remote rural communities who hardly see government services for ages up till today. Many flock into towns and cities for opportunities but end up doing what they think is the way to survive in today’s way of life. It is out of frustration due to lack of opportunities in creating jobs by the government for simple citizens of the land. If citizens needs are well taken care off then we should expect peace and harmony in our communities in both rural and urban centres.
Lastly, the root to this issue is for our leaders to be honest in their dealings and use of people’s money and resources. High level of corruption in politics and administration in PNG is actually fueling the lawlessness in our societies across the land.
Otherwise, implement the death penalty also on corrupt politicians and bureaucrats who squander millions of people’s money. They are as bad as criminals or murderers themselves. In directly our leaders are contributing to the chaos in the country by stealing millions.
When people have money in their pockets from decent employment, they will not need to steal or rob their own people.
Some countries in the world like China, Malaysia and others do public executions of corrupt officials if found guilty by the highest courts of the land.
Can we apply this too in PNG? I believe this is the deterent you and I need to take back PNG. Hard reset is and should not be just talk/mauswara. We need real action to prevail for the sake of our future generations.