Prime Minister James Marape commended State Enterprises Minister William Duma and other Members of Parliament on passing of two important Bills in Parliament recently to amend the Motor Vehicles Act.
The Prime Minister pointed out to Papua New Guineas that Opposition Leader Belden Namah voted against these two Bills – “which clearly shows his lack of care and concern for people of the country.”
The Bills are the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) (Amendment) Bill 2021 and Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) (Basic Protection Compensation) (Amendment) Bill 2021. The two bills were passed 73-7 and 74-7 by Parliament and will:
- Ensure all motor vehicles and machinery operating in our country - including those operating in the extractive, logging and agriculture industry sites - increase the amount of Basic Protection Compensation to dependents of persons who die as a result of motor vehicle accidents; and
- Ensure that Motor Vehicles Insurance Ltd (MVIL) is only liable for accidents as a consequence of the use of registered motor vehicles.
The significance of the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) (Basic Protection Compensation) (Amendment) Bill 2021 is that, by introducing a new Section 18, MVIL will pay K10,000 to dependents of a person who dies as a result of a motor vehicle accident – whether the deceased is a male, female or minor as funeral expenses funds whilst awaiting compensation claims.
Under the current legislation, MVIL pays K5000 to dependents of the deceased if the deceased is a male, and K2500 to dependents of the deceased if the deceased is a female. The change corrects inconsistent practices and restores fairness in terms of compensation payments to dependents of people who die in motor vehicle accidents.
“I commend Minister Duma for this reform, consistent with Government directives, to ensure money is paid to victims of motor vehicle accidents, as well as funeral expenses,” PM Marape said.
“We are working to increase compensation from MVIL funds belonging to those who register motor vehicles, so it will provide insurance cover for those who are injured in accidents involving these vehicles.”
PM Marape said Opposition Leader Namah’s voting against these Bills showed that he had no concern for victims of road accidents in PNG.
“Papua New Guinea must know that Namah, for his own selfish reasons, voted against our amendment for MVIL to pay more to motor vehicle accident victims,” he said.