New Ireland Deputy Governor Sammy Missen whose Provincial Government has been a strong advocate of greater Autonomy, has supported Enga Governor Peter Ipatas’ sentiments with respect to the failure of National Government to treat Provincial Governments with the respect due them under law.
Missen said the Marape Government has shied away from the Greater Autonomy agenda and has ignored extensive policy writeups and well documented pathways submitted to National Government by several provinces for the devolution of powers to the Provinces.
Enga Governor Peter Ipatas recently in Parliament, called on the Marape Government to stop undermining Provincial Governments as constitutionally recognized and mandated Governments in the Provinces. He said it seems the District Development Authorities are getting more attention from the National Government than the Provincial Governments, but that this is contrary to law.
Governor Ipatas said “The Provincial Governments are there by law. For the last 4 to 8 years the Provincial Governments have been losing their mandated role. When we left the PNC-led Government we wanted to gain back that respect. We need to be very clear about the roles of DDAs and of Provincial Governments. I want to know when this specific demarcation of powers and responsibilities is going to be sorted out. Prime Minister please tell the nation what is your plan.”
“Inap kam nau Giaman yah,” Governor Ipatas said. “We are mandated leaders to lead the Provinces. We are not going to be sitting down here and remain quiet. Our mandate is being robbed. I’m not against any Open member, but the attention is being given to the DDA’s and not to the Provincial Governments.”
“I ask the PM to tell us very clearly – will there be a devolution of Powers or not? We need devolution to make sure we effectively perform duties as mandated by the Constitution.”
In response, Prime Minister James Marape agreed that the Provincial Government system is a legislated system of Government and that the District Development Authorities were simply service delivery coordinating bodies and not Governments.
“DDA’s are just a delivery mechanism and should be working with the Provincial Governments. I am a firm believer that the sub-national Governments are strong cornerposts of our county that house our sovereignty,” said PM Marape.
On the devolution of powers agenda Marape remarked that there was no clear definition of what autonomy entails and more discussions need to be held.
“My conversation was you cannot talk about functional autonomy without economic empowerment. What is the relevance of functional autonomy if you are still dependent on Waigani to support those functions, “ the PM said.
However, Missen said “New Ireland and Enga and East New Britain have worked together to define exactly what Greater Autonomy will entail. We have submitted several detailed documents explaining exactly how Greater Autonomy should be structured. We have noted over and over again that functional or administrative autonomy is meaningless without economic autonomy, and we have detailed exactly how economic autonomy can be achieved. What we require now is a serious response by National Government to our detailed proposals.”
“New Ireland is moving ahead with Autonomy. Enough talk and empty promises from the National Government!” said Missen
Missen further called on Prime Minister Marape not to confuse Bougainville’s Autonomy with the Greater Autonomy aspirations of other parts of the country.
“Bougainville is a totally separate matter,” Missen said. “They want to become a separate country. We do not intend to follow that path. Our intent is to give greater power to the Provinces as a means of strengthening the country.”
“We simply want to have more control over our own affairs in our provinces,“ Missen continued. “We want to be able to raise revenue internally, administer our government services and have more power over our own resources. We don’t need Waigani managing our provinces remotely. Having responsibility devolved to the provincial level will mean greater efficiency and accuracy in delivering services, infrastructure and other needs.
Over the past 47 years we have learnt that Waigani is an impediment to the progress of our provinces; they simply do not know the real needs at the local level. The time is now to change our course of history for the better,” said Missen.
Missen encouraged the Prime Minister not to fear greater Autonomy and look at other country’s who have been practicing a similar type of Governance for hundreds of years. Pointing out that Federalism, which uses the same concept of increased lower level Autonomy, has been running well and protecting democracy in countries like Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Switzerland, and the United States successfully.
Missen concluded, saying “We feel that the evidence from the rest of the world is very clear. Just as in the United States or Australia, or Germany, stronger lower levels of government, stronger provinces, will make for a stronger country.”