PNG: New political grouping takes shape
Updated
The current Papua New Guinea prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, the leader of the National Alliance, says he's confident of forming the next government in coalition with some smaller parties once the full elections results are announced on Monday. But a rival group appears to have developed, under the leadership of PNG Party leader and former prime minister Sir Mekere Morauta and New Generation Party leader Bart Philemon.
Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speakers: Firman Nanol, PNG correspondent
NANOL: Yes Geraldine good afternoon and good afternoon listeners, yes I am here at a media briefing by the New Generation leader Bart Philemon and Sir Mekere Moratua the leader of the PNG Party who have forged an alliance, a like-minded alliance to form together in an attempt to form an honest and transparent government. The five representatives and leaders of the political parties whom they are forging together has come out and held a meeting that they're working together, they're honest and they will go down fighting whether to form the government or not if they end up the opposition .. the people and the country needs an honest and transparent government that will deliver services to alleviate poverty. So yes they've just announced publicly the two leaders, including representatives of other parties that they're working together.
COUTTS: Well how realistic is it that the two politicians can work together or are the gaps between them too great, perceived or otherwise?
NANOL: Well the two leaders, Sir Mekere Morauta and Bart Philemon have openly in public well before the polls they've indicated they would work together to form a government. To date they're saying it will be a big coalition of state and political parties, smaller parties and bigger parties matching together in their team and they're still talking to other parties who may be able to win numbers as counting winds down and we expect a result by early next week. Now in that group, in the group now they've openly indicated and confirmed they have got 25 newly elected members of the different political parties of those 18 parties in that group, including both their parties with some independent candidates who are already in their camp ... The camp is Mekere and Bart camp will be in Lae in PNG's Morobe province and they've already added some independent candidates with others already in that group and they will be flying the other members as long as they come in from Moresby into Lae, going into that group. While Sir Michael Somare and his NA group are in East Sepik.
COUTTS: Well setting the number crunching aside and the numbers altogether, are there policy differences between the New Alliance and this new coalition that would separate them, that would distinguish them and that would also make it that they can't work together?
NANOL: Well those parties have different views and policies, but five of the major parties, one is the Country Party, the other one is the New Generation is the rural women's Rural Development Party, the foremost important thing among their policies is that they want to form an honest and transparent government who will ensure there's no corruption in state institutions, to strengthen state institutions and to corporatise entities like the telecommunication industry or banking, like Sir Mekere Moratua did, to ensure there's no government involvement or politicising of state institutions. That has been one of the major problems facing this country whereby politicians and political parties and governments ... appoint new CEOs and managers of state institutions which at times run down and the public servants and that institution that's not be able to provide services for the bulk of the population. That is one of the core fundamental issues of some of these parties coming together with New General Party of Bart Philemon and Sir Mekere Moratua of the PNG Party. ... is that they save millions of kina, or US dollars, PNG money has gone missing, public funds have gone missing, but no action has been taken by the last government which is Sir Michael Somare's government.
