Achieved: The significant objective of removing O’Neill

By FRANCIS NII - PNG Attitude 

KUNDIAWA - The political tussle in Papua New Guinea has at last reached its climax with the son of Tari Pori James Mara prevailing as the country’s new prime minister.

From yesterday, the new prime minister has been busy deciding his new ministry and his action priorities for getting government business going.

Although the game has been long and tough, and full of many twists and turns with some tactics deemed unethical, the ultimate goal has been achieved - the removal of prime minister Peter O’Neill.

The 24 members of the opposition team under the leadership of Patrick Pruaitch had embarked on a mission to fight the corruption eating into the fabric of the society.

They wanted a new prime minister but had no idea how that might happen and who it would be.

It was a wild chase but they never wavered in their determination to remove O’Neill. They stayed focussed and got there.

In their campaign, they called upon members of the People’s National Congress – the main coalition partner in the O’Neill government - to pull out, join the opposition and form a new government with a new prime minister.

They campaigned aggressively with repeated calls but it took a long time for a prominent person within government ranks to have the foresight and courage to break ranks.

Finally James Marape took the gamble and defected to the opposition taking with him 11 members of the government.

Marape, was no ordinary member of parliament but a senior minister and one of the corner posts of the O’Neill hausman.

It was not long after he defected that the government crumbled and eventually collapsed – with O’Neill resigning and Marape easily winning the top job.

It is fitting that Marape got the post and he deserves it. Without his decisive defection, the ambition of the opposition would not have come to fruition. He made the right decision and so did those members who accompanied him.

Commendation should also be accorded to Patrick Pruaitch, Bryan Kramer, Gary Juffa, Allan Bird, Kerenga Kua, Ian Ling Stuckey and others. They should be proud of themselves and hold their heads high for bringing O’Neill down.

The end result may have not turned out exactly as many expected but at least O’Neill has been removed from the post of prime minister and this was also a people’s revolution due to the massive campaign to remove O’Neill by Facebook users.

This change shows just how social media has assumed a position where it can change the political landscape of PNG.

Go to this link for more: https://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2019/06/achieved-the-significant-objective-of-removing-oneill.html