The Southern Highlands Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Daniel Yangen is calling all Public Servants that have left the province to return after violence and clashes in Mendi Town forced most of them who are not from the province to leave in fear of their lives.
He said that many had fled the province and now that everything has returned to normal, he is calling on them to return to the provincial capital.
“Many have left for Port Moresby City in fear of their lives and now I am appealing for them to return as we have set up a peace restoration committee and are working to bring normalcy back to SHP,” the CIP said.
At the moment, Yangen said most public buildings are abandoned and those that have returned are struggling to assist the general public and this has severely affected service delivery in the province.
“The Agiru Haus is empty and there is no one around to see to the public’s needs,” he said.
He added that this was a contributing factor to the closure of schools for the rest of the year, with students in the province told not resume schooling for term 4 until next year.
Speaking as a parent, he said this has had a grave effect on the children in the province as they were advised that they would be repeating the same grade next year.
“I am also a parent and this will affect my children’s learning, so I am calling on the public servants to return earnestly to the province, especially those working with the Provincial Administration and the District Administration of the 5 electorates,” Yangen said.
Currently, Yangen is calling on the provincial heads, along with the districts to work towards having them returned to the Province.