Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel claims he is not fazed by the Vote of No Confidence

by BRYAN KRAMER 

Madang MP

Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel went on record in an interview with the Post Courier claiming he is not at all fazed by the looming vote of no confidence.

“We are fully intact as far as I am concerned, Prime Minister has our support” Abel said.

My Response:

Really??? If the Government was really intact then why did it adjourn Parliament to January 2019 to avoid sitting in first week of February, which has been the practice in the past.

Government is anything but intact! The real question is what will the Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, the likes of Abel and their foreign cronies, who have become millionaires on our people's tax money, going to do to ensure they have the numbers to defeat a motion of Vote of No Confidence (VONC)?

Abel claims people gave the mandate to PNC Party after the 2017 national general election to govern.

“PNC Party got the mandate of the people and I think any incoming government after an election must continue to have the opportunity to govern. I don’t think changing governments or Prime Ministers and disturbing the mandate of the people is conducive to good governance" Abel is reported saying.

My Response:

Wrong! PNC did not get the mandate of the people. PNC went into the 2017 General Elections with 52 sitting Members and endorsed a total of 93 candidates.

Of the 52 sitting MPs only 22 were re-elected representing a return of just 42% and of 93 candidates endorsed by O'Neill, only 29 or 32% were elected.

These results are hardly a mandate of the people. A majority mandate would be returning 56 MPs and not 29.

Further still, International Independent Observers described 2017 General Election as marred by widespread violence, vote rigging and bribery declaring it anything but free and fair.

The question is just how many seats would PNC have won if the election was free and fair - perhaps just 10, if any.

An interesting fact is that Abel even lost support in his own electorate. In 2012 Abel polled 15,00 votes, however in 2017 his votes dropped to 11,000. His primary (1) vote dropped from 12,000 to 8,000.

With all Abel’s praise of the purported achievements by PNC and O’Neill Government one would think his voter base would be going forward not backwards.

The recent unrest and on-going social issues faced in Alotau suggests Abel is at serious risk of not being returned in 2022.

Now while some will say the same of issues faced in Madang, the difference is I inherited the issues in Madang, on account I’ve only been in office one year into my first term, while Abel has been the Member for Alotau for 11 years so there is no real excuse on his part.

Abel talks of good governance, well I believe Abel is confused between opportunity to govern with opportunity to steal. PNC's Party Leader O'Neill is known for everything but good governance. It is my view O'Neill will go down in the history as PNG's most corrupt Prime Minister.

Abel goes on to declare his unwavering support to Prime Minister O’Neill.

"Prime Minister certainly has my support and our PNC Party is fully intact, we are not particularly fazed by vote of no confidence, it is part of politics and we just have to deal with them.”

One would understand Abel wouldn't support a change of Government for starters, it would mean he would be stripped of his position as Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer and may end up becoming politically irrelevant.

Meanwhile, the people have to deal with a flat-lining economy, record increase in cost of living, increase in taxes, a hike in tertiary fees, little if no job prospects, hospitals without drugs, escalating law and order issues, and none payment of their entitlements and allowances, to name a few.

Another issue of serious concern is Papua New Guineans are forced to live in poverty and watch influx of Chinese Nationals, who arrive in PNG overnight, with nothing but a suit case and end up overnight millionaires on our resources and public funds, thanks to stupid corrupt Politicians and Government Officials who are only too willing to award them multi million inflated contracts.

Parliament will resume in 9 days on 22nd January 2019, if Abel is of the view it would be wrong to disturb the peoples mandate, maybe it time to ask the people where their mandate lies.

Perhaps it's time for strike 3....