Governor for Eastern Highlands Province Julie Soso has raised concern how the EHP Provincial Administrator’s tussle had turned into a political turmoil and dousing false reports of EHP experiencing civil unrest.
Governor Soso in a media conference yesterday said the provincial PA impasse is not a new thing to the media as this had all started last year in June when then acting provincial administrator Solomon Tato was arrested by police for official corruption and mismanagement of funds after chairing a Public Supply and Tenders Board (PSTB) meeting.
Soso claimed that Tato awarded K2.8 million to a contracting company who was supposed to complete the Okapa Administration building but it was not used for its intended purpose.
EHP public servants made complaints and representatives of the Anti-Corruption Agency took it upon themselves to investigate into the matter and had fraud squad arrest Tato as well as the district treasurer and the Contractor in June 2015.
Tato’s case was now a state matter making it the State verses Solomon Tato in court; however Tato’s was dismissed because of the lack of sufficient evidence held against him.
Until recently, an ex- officio indictment was issued again by the public prosecutor stating that there was some evidence that could refer Solomon Tato to the National Court.
The police were authorised to serve the indictment on Tato but his supporters stopped police from serving him the indictment, kicking them out of the provincial government office and started a riot with police outside the office. Tato was later caught in Kainantu and was served the ex-officio indictment from the public prosecutor.
Governor Soso says she was later accused by Police Minister Robert Aityafa and Solomon Tato of trying to push through with the indictment on behalf of the state and public prosecutor.
After Tato was served the indictment, his supporters gathered and paraded around town demanding for K10 million from the EHP Governor and the EHP provincial government.
Governor Soso says it is not her doing of trying to push for the indictment and that it she was only endearing to orders that came from the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the ex-officio indictment to be served to Tato by police.
She says the media reports that came out on Tato’s case about shots being fired at him and his supporters in the paper are not true and that shots were only fired into the air to stop and disperse supporters who were trying to stop police from serving the indictment to Tato, adding that the reports were all fabricated to give people the impression that EHP was going through tribal fights and civil unrest.
She says all reports that came from Tato and Police Minister Atiyafa and reported by the media is not true as they should have explained the facts of the issue first and not mobilize people to prevent police from serving a court order to Tato.
She later officially announced the name of the new Eastern Highlands Province Acting Provincial Administrator as Alvin Inamoi congratulating him on his role and that he plays his role truthfully and wisely up until the 2017 elections.