Prime Minister James Marape visited the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission on Tuesday 11th September 2022 to introduce and install the new Chairman Hon. Saki Soloma, making the visit to CLRC, a first by any Prime Minister of PNG. The visit also saw the Prime Minister praise the Commission for the work it had been doing in reforming and updating our laws and also signaled the important task for CLRC in the lead up the country’s 50 years of nationhood in 2025. “The next two years is important and this office will be at the forefront in driving the reform agendas.” the Prime Minister said. Prime Minister Marape said his government will be working closely and supporting CLRC and the Chairman to address critical questions on the Constitution, the laws, and systems and processes we having been using since Independence and charting a way forward for the next 50 years. “Our role specifically is to ask those critical questions and to conceptualize them into policies, and CLRC can further promulgate them into law and hopefully Parliament can pass if it is in the wisdom of Parliament,” Prime Minister Marape said. The Prime Minister said in keeping with the path set by our founding fathers and mothers in the Constitution, CLRC’s constitutional mandate on consultation, must also be utilized to elicit endorsement and solutions from the people on those key questions, such as the review on the system of government that includes the election of the Prime Minister by the people and the Judiciary, as well as the future of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. “Any substantial constitutional change we want do, must be with and by the people,” he said. He said the foundations set in place by our founding fathers and mothers have brought us this far in the last 47 years, adding it is our time to pass on a democratic, safer and better PNG for our children after us. The Prime Minister said he is confident with the leadership of Hon. Saki Soloma who as the experience to lead CLRC on delivering on the important reforms. “On behalf of my family and people of Okapa, I thank the Prime Minster for entrusting me with this job and I will do my best with the support of CLRC but we also need the Prime Minister’s support from time to time to ensure we change the state of PNG going forward for the next 50 years,” Hon. Soloma said. Hon. Soloma also said the time is right for people to understand and appreciate the role of CLRC and need for changes to many of our laws in order for the country to be competitive with the rest of the world. He further extended his condolence to the family and people of the former Chairman and Member for Wewak, late Hon. Kevin Isifu and pledged to continue the good work he started. While thanking the Prime Minister Marape for his visit, CLRC secretary Dr. Mange Matui said the Commission understands the significance of the nation’s 50th anniversary and their contributions, some of which, he added, the Commission have already commenced work such on the development of the underlying law, the colonial laws and the major review on the form of system of Government, apart from the legislative reviews. He also welcomed the appointment of the Hon. Soloma and expressed excitement for a good working relationship with the new Chairman.