West New Britain Regional MP, Sasindran Muthuvel has raised concerns on the recent lockdown imposed on West New Britain by the Pandemic Controller, David Manning.
Muthuvel said they were caught off-guard and argued that the provincial leaders including other stakeholders were not consulted on the lockdown.
He added that the people who will be affected are those on holidays and students returning for 2021 school year.
“We were not even given one week notice. As much as talk about COVID spread, there was very little resources to address this issue and lack of man-power, in fact we are also faced with serious law and order issues. People are not adhering to any protocols and go on normal and lack of manpower in police and in health making it really challenging.”
Mr Muthuvel stressed that the plight of those kids returning to schools and others seeking medical attention in Port Moresby is challenging.
He is calling on the Secretary for Health, Dr Osborne Liko and Controller to revoke and revise this 14-day restriction and allow at least 7 days for people to prepare.
He added that airline companies must also stop selling tickets for travel after that, so the province and authorities can prepare themselves to face the restrictions.
“We cannot even police the internal measures of the ‘niupla pasin’ way of living. Coming up with these restrictions without notice is unfair decision.
“I am appealing to the controller to reconsider his WNB Restrictions No 13 and revise the restrictions and give chance for our people to return to work, school or medical reason travel. “Consultation with all stakeholders is paramount before imposing lock down and shutting down flights should be the last option,” Mr Muthuvel said.
Muthuvel is disappointed but confident that both the Controller and Minister for Health assess the WNB Restrictions 13 and give sufficient notice.
Meantime, Minister for Health, Jelta Wong told this newsroom that the provincial leaders have been consulted on the restrictions imposed and clarified that the lockdown was done to stop movement of people out of the province.