Late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare’s former Chief of Staff, Mr Paul Bengo, will represent the family from time to time in issuing public statements from the family as they prepare the funeral arrangements of their late beloved father.
Sir Michael handpicked Mr Paul Bengo out of UPNG in 1973 to be his Principle Private Secretary, taking over from the young Sir Rabbie Namaliu at the time.
Since then Mr Bengo has been a loyal public servant for many years, serving in many capacities both in provincial and National Government. After the passage of the Organic Law on Political Parties and Candidates, Mr Bengo became the first Registrar of Political Parties.
His loyalty to PNG and Sir Michael makes him an obvious representative for our family. He will liaise with State officials to make sure that there is coordination between all parties to ensure arrangements for Sir Michael have the consent of the family and is acceptable to the people of Papua New Guinea.
Again as Sir Michael was a friend, father and mentor to so many people around the country, we have seen already a great number of people asking for a Hauskrai to be set up. In practical terms it is difficult for everyone to congregate at his 4mile residence.
We therefore kindly request that friends and relatives respect and follow COVID protocols. While it is our tradition to sit and share stories of our beloved deceased relatives we are living in precarious times.
It is a fact that COVID numbers have increased in our country over the recent months. We ask that relatives respect the health of our other aging parent, our mother by observing protocols such as washing hands, not shaking hands but fist pumping and social distancing.
In the interest of the media please liaise with Mr Rodney Kamus at rodneykamusrk@gmail.com who is part of Mr Bengo’s team.
Picture sourced: GETTY Images