Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi has called on the leaders of Porgera to be present in the district and attend to the ongoing law and order issues before seeking assistance from the higher levels of Government.
Justice Kandakasi addressed the Porgera public in a visit to the troubled district on Sunday 15 March.
Speaking at the Porgera Station, Justice Kandakasi bluntly highlighted a lack in leadership and breakdown in community discipline as reasons for the ongoing problems with law and order in Porgera.
“Where are your leaders? They are supposed to be on the ground attending to the people’s concerns and issues arising in the communities,” he stated.
“Leaders are chosen by the people. It is the responsibility of leaders to bring people together and raise their concerns to the higher levels of Government. The kind of leadership here is reflective of the type of community that exists.”
Justice Kandakasi said communities and leaders in Porgera have themselves to blame for the high level of crimes prevalent in recent times, stating that while they are calling for government support to help address the issues, they on the other hand are also harbouring and allowing the criminals to roam freely within their communities.
“You are sending the police everywhere and yet you are not helping the situation by providing information to the security personnel. Take control of your own communities first and instill some discipline before you call out for government help,” Justice Kandakasi said.
He appealed to the communities to get serious about law and order and in doing so, come forward to provide information and support to the security deployment to assist them carry out their duties effectively.
Contingent Commander of the special deployment personnel, Chief Inspector Luvi Florian, told the gathering, fixing Porgera’s law and order problems is everyone’s responsibility and not just for the security deployment.
He expressed that what has been disappointing has been the lack of corporation from the communities in providing information for the police for them to effectively do their work.
“I cannot just go into communities looking for criminals. You have to provide that information to help me and it’s very disappointing that since December we have not been getting that community support that we need,” Chief Inspector Florian said.
Various local community group representatives and community leaders also addressed the gathering, calling for stronger leadership and direction toward addressing Porgera’s law and order issues.