Opposition leader Belden Namah is calling on the Government to immediately lift lockdown throughout PNG and promote the ‘Niupela Pasin’ protocols.
Namah said lockdowns are killing the economy, putting people out of work and shutting down businesses.
“Unless the government lifts lockdown immediately, it will be creating a social and economic disaster far worse than the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“Lockdowns are encouraging criminal activities and disrupting the education of a generation of children. The Pandemic Act has given the Prime Minister and the Controller unbridled powers,” Said Namah.
He said: “We are fast moving towards becoming a police state. When lifting lockdowns, I call for ‘Niupela Pasin’ Protocols to be encouraged by public health workers and civil servants and not members of the security forces.
“Police and soldiers are today abusing the citizen’s human rights and adding to the hardships and misery imposed by the Pandemic.”
Namah added that police should be performing their mandated policing roles while soldiers have a massive task of guarding our land and sea borders and warders should be maintaining prisons and rehabilitating the criminals.
He also claimed that the Government has not tabled a detailed COVID-19 report but adjourned Parliament for three months.
“On April 21st, the Government caused Parliament to be adjourned to the 10th of August without a status report on COVID-19 Pandemic after a five-month hiatus from December 2020.
He claimed that Prime Minister James Marape has not accounted for the billions of kina allegedly spent on COVID-19 operations.