Among the continued efforts by the national government to ensure the 2022 National General Elections is successful, the Joint Security Taskforce have been given a working space to operate in.
The Joint Security Taskforce Command Centre was officially opened today by the Police Minister William Onglo, Police Commissioner David Manning, Deputy Chief of the PNGDF Commodore Philip Polewara and representatives from the PNG Correctional Services.
Located on the 2nd floor of Morauta Haus at Waigani in Port Moresby, the centre will play host to the coordination of the security forces personnel in the election period.
Minister Onglo said one of the lessons learnt from past elections is the importance of Joint Security Forces being coordinated properly in a structured manner.
“Unlike in the past where there is no control and structure within the security forces to seek assistance, this election will see a different picture in the way security issues are addressed,” Mr Onglo said.
“The government has also taken a different approach in terms of providing funding straight to the Joint Security Forces instead of providing funding only to the Electoral Commission who then allocates it to the security forces as seen in the past.”
“This enables the security forces, who remain an important stakeholder in this exercise to do early planning and preparations for the election.”
The centre is opened as of today until the conclusion of the election period when the writs are returned.