Parliament probe in order: OC

By Pearson Kolo

THE Ombudsman Commission confirmed yesterday that it was investigating whether the National Constitution was breached by the Government when Parliament was adjourned to November.
The office of the Chief Ombudsman Chronox Manek said its investigation would determine whether Parliament had sat for the required number of 63 days in one calendar year.
Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, Speaker Jeffery Nape and Minister Paul Tiensten could face up to 10 years in jail or be fined if they are found to have breached the Constitution when Parliament was adjourned on July 29.
When contacted by the Post-Courier on the matter, the Chief Ombudsmans office said they would refer Sir Michael, Mr Nape and Mr Tiensten to a leadership tribunal for possible prosecution if there was enough evidence to prove that they had breached the Constitution.
The penalty for breach of section 124(1) is imprisonment for a period of not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding K10,000.
Mr Maneks office said it had received a letter of complaint from the Opposition dated July 31, which claimed the three leaders deliberately violated and breached section 124(1) of the Constitution which states that Parliament should sit for a total of nine weeks which is 63 days in 12 months.
In that letter, the Opposition claimed the early adjournment meant Parliament did not meet for the required number of sitting days and the adjournment was unconstitutional.
But Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare during a press conference recently said there was no breach of the Constitution on the adjournment of Parliament.
He maintained his Government did not do wrong nor was it in breach of the Constitution, saying that the 63 days could still be met if they had it their way and advised the Speaker to recall Parliament when they saw fit.
Parliament has sat for only 31 days between March 10 and July 29 until Parliaments adjournment to November 2009.
In 1999 the Supreme Court ruled that the nine weeks meant 63 sitting days.

So they still have to sit for 32 days. If they return in November they COULD still get the extra 32 days squeezed in, but that assumes they actually turn up for sessions for several days at a time with a quorum and no adjournments! Not something our MP's are good at. Also once a session is underway, the Opposition could still move a vote of no confidence - in fact now they have more time to gather the numbers. The main problem is the corrupt and incompetent speaker Nape who will probably just refuse to let them table the motion.

Does he really understand what a a Speaker is supposed to be? How much is he getting in kick-backs from the NA to stall and frustrate the opposition?

Nape is the main problem to be overcome. Maybe protesters could barricade his house at Morauta so he can't get out to attend Parliament? Then the deputy speaker would have to run things.

A famous politician in Papua New Guinea died and went to heaven. As he stood in front of St.Peter at the Pearly Gates, he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him. He asked, "What are all those clocks?"

St. Peter answered, "Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock. Every time you lie the hands on your clock will move."

"Oh," said the politician, "whose clock is that?" "That's Mother Teresa's. The hands have never moved, indicating that she never told a lie." "Incredible," said the politician.

"And whose clock is that one?" St. Peter responded, "That's Port Moresby archbishop's clock. The hands have moved twice, telling us that the bishop told only two lies in his entire life."
"Where's Somare's clock?" asked the politician.

"Somare's clock is in our office, we're using it as a ceiling fan."

hahahaha.. NICE... its a joke but seems abit realistic...

thats good one mate, tell us more.

regards
reader

So what other lie-clocks would be good ceiling fans? Pruaitch, Poyle, Namah, Baby King Arthur, ... ?

Oh bugger, there's too many to name.

Poyles incompetence with the CAA has been a major contribution to the air crash yesterday. They haven't investigated the last 19 air crashes in PNG! PNG is on the brink of losing international registration because of lack of safety and control systems at major airports.

I think this fits our overall approach to life as Papua New Guineans. Never plan ahead for anything, be reactive instead of proactive, and never invest in preventative maintenance but instead wait until you have to pay 10 times more money rebuilding the infrastructure from scratch.

Every one of us is like this, including those on this pngscape. So we shouldn't comjplain about Polye because if we were in his shoes we'd be doing the same thing.

Polye is no different from us.