New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan kept his tradition of paying respects to late Stephen Mokis an outstanding New Irelander and Public Servant who was known for his great work to move the Province Forward through his position in the Public service.
This is the 10th consecutive year Sir J continues to pay tribute after his passing on the 23rd of August 2012, he would be 73 years this year, while speaking during a Public Service day event in Kavieng.
“When I remember Stephen Mokis, I remember a man who was dedicated above all to making the lives of New Irelanders better. Stephen Mokis embodied all that the public service should be. All he did was work for the Good of the people of New Ireland and Papua New Guinea, “said Sir J.
Mokis was the first Chairman of the Provincial Autonomy Committee. He led discussions to define rights to equitable sharing of rights and fair hearing and representation in the Governance systems.
“It was upon this recognition my Government declared the day of his passing 23rd of August every year a Public Service holiday in honor of him,’ said Sir J.
After the formal laying of wreaths , Sir J gave an outline of his Government policies after being officially sworn into the 11th Parliament.
“My policies of the PPP will look after you, your children and your grandchildren later on. I have already planted the tree of development and that tree has already produced fruits. The fruits of Free and Subsidized education, Roof over heads, Ward level grants, Church grants, Institutional grants and many more. The tree I planted is a good tree and therefore will be good fruits as Mathew said,” said Sir J.
He said even though the two Open MPs have taken all the funding for the royalties away the PPP will still manage public funds to ensure the sustainability of the PPP policies.