Police Commissioner David Manning has accepted the government’s sentiments of dissatisfaction in the wake of recent ethnic clashes and killings in the nation’s capital of Port Moresby.
Mr Manning highlighted these issues at the 2022 national general election security debrief conference in Lae, Morobe Province, Monday (17/10/22) morning.
“As many of you are aware, our performance has been a point of discussion on the floor of Parliament recently.
“As your leader I ultimately will and have accepted the responsibility of these sentiments of dissatisfaction. I accept it of course with grave concern.
“What was argued on the floor of parliament is a “Call to Action” of the Police Force by our national leaders…the RPNGC will respond to this call.
“We have commenced this process in Headquarters, and we remain committed to ensuring we secure the necessary support from our government, and of course our development and bilateral partners.
“In doing so, I have directed certain reforms that need to be initiated, focused on bettering ourselves in order to meet the expectations of our stakeholders.
“This includes improving performance accountability, strengthening processes, ensuring an organizational mind set shift to ensure compliance and more effective service delivery at both the national and sub national levels.
“Let me put on record that if we do not take necessary steps to address our operational gaps and resolve them at least two years before 2027, we will not be in a position to ensure the delivery of the electoral process come 2027.
“Time has called for all partners to develop a single planning document that is not only understood by all but is able to be implemented across a multi-agency environment through multi-agency concurrent activities to deliver a shared desired and agreed outcome. This document sets out clear planning and operational and administrative guidelines that allow for effective use of assets and resources all the while enhancing effective collaboration.
“We will continue to be faced with limited resources; this does not however diminish our responsibility to ensure our best efforts to support the electoral process. We must continue to be innovative, establish and maintain relationships, and above all provide the strong leadership that is generally lacking in the public service,” Commissioner Manning said.