PM failed to act on trio: Marat

RABAUL MP Dr Allan Marat has questioned Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare for failing to remove the three MPs implicated by suspected bank robber William Kapris, The National reports.

He said Kapris had revealed the names of two ministers and the deputy parliamentary speaker in the Supreme Court.

One of the two ministers named was suspended treasury and finance minister Patrick Pruaitch.

Marat said Correctional Services Minister Tony Aimo and Deputy Speaker Francis Marus were still holding on to their offices despite the revelations of their alleged involvement with criminals.

“Can’t the prime minister act swiftly to remove them to salvage whatever decency there is left of the government?” he told a large crowd in the Kokopo Secondary School hall for the 2010 Kokopo Walk against Corruption forum on Sunday.

“If the prime minister cannot, then he should come out in public and tell the nation why he is holding on to them.

“I stood up for what is right that went against the government’s interests and Sir Michael did not hesitate to sack me in the most humiliating manner in front of all the other ministers and backbenchers,” he said.

Marat said Sir Michael’s favourite expression was that “ministers alleged to have committed misconduct in office were presumed innocent until proven guilty”.

“That expression is not consistently applied.

“So what is the real reason for holding them back as there are many capable backbenchers who can do the job?

“Some of us are used by the National Alliance (NA) party merely as numbers to form the government. After that, some of us are nothing but figures to the party,” Marat said.

“We were deliberately avoided and the views, opinions and advice of other people were taken and acted upon, much to our surprise and disapproval.”

Marat said there were no real respect for certain ministers and what the ruling NA party wanted must be done at all costs.

“For lamenting the failures of the past and present governments in not preparing and building up our human capacity in readiness for the extractive industry and in particular the LNG project, I was removed,” he said.

Marat had expressed doubts about the reality of the foreign consultant’s reports on the safety impact of tailings to the environment and citizens on the proposed Nautilus Mining in the Bismarck Archipelago, proposed smelting facility and dumping of tailings at the old Rabaul airport area and Ramu Nico’s deep sea tailings in the Basamuk Bay in Madang.

“My stand against the proposed Maladina amendments to the leadership code was the last straw,” Marat said.