Somare’s leadership in crisis. Will he come out unscathed?

OSEAH PHILEMON

On December 13, 2010 the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and elder statesman of the Pacific Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare stepped aside as Prime Minister to allow a leadership tribunal to hear charges of misconduct in office against him.

Sir Michael’s decision and action came just as the acting Public Prosecutor Jimmy Wala Tamate officially requested Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia to set up a leadership tribunal to hear charges against the prime minister—the first in the history of Papua New Guinea since independence in September 1975.

It was a dramatic decision that was not entirely unexpected except the timing of it which shocked many in PNG.

Sir Michael is the longest serving politician in PNG, the Pacific and the Commonwealth. He entered national politics in 1968 and served continuously up until now—as a Member of Parliament, Prime Minister, Opposition Leader and even minister.

Prior to making the announcement to step aside, Sir Michael appointed his newly appointed deputy prime minister Sam Abal as acting prime minister. What an irony in history.

At the time when Sir Michael was advocating for Papua New Guinea to become independent, Abal’s father, the late Sir Tei Abal who was then Leader of the Opposition, had strongly opposed the move saying the country was not ready for independence.

Thirty five years later, his son, who had served under Sir Michael as Minister for Foreign Affairs, has taken over as acting prime minister, guiding the country through its most turbulent period in history.

With the prime minister now no longer in control, the Supreme Court has also ruled that the election of Sir Paulias Matane as governor-general was unconstitutional and therefore invalid.

The court ruled that at the time the election of the governor-general was held in Parliament, the Speaker, Jeffrey Nape, breached the constitution by exercising his powers as Speaker when in fact he was acting governor-general at the same time.

The court ordered that parliament meet on January 11 to elect a new governor-general.

It was a double blow for Sir Michael and his National Alliance-led Government who had enjoyed the last eight years of political stability.

No one ever thought that their strength of over 80 Members of Parliament could bring the government into such a chaotic mess as it is in now.

Shaky future

But the house of Somare has cracked and crumbled. They remain in government but their future is shaky.

In November, the government adjourned Parliament straight after passing the 2011 budget to May 2011 to ensure they avoid the mooted no confidence vote by the Opposition.

By May, the prime minister would have been in the safe period where he is immune to any no confidence vote by the Opposition up until the national general election in May/June 2012.

On 26 June 2008 the Ombudsman Commission referred Sir Michael to the Public Prosecutor on allegations of misconduct in office.

The commission alleged that Sir Michael failed to furnish annual statements.

The Ombudsman Commission stated that the Prime Minister was given a right to be heard which he exercised.

“The commission duly considered and deliberated on the matter and found that it was not satisfied that the leader had discharged the allegations.

“The commission further found that there is a prima facie evidence that the leader is guilty of misconduct in office in relation to the allegations.”

The Prime Minister was informed of the commission’s decision through his lawyers.

Since then, Sir Michael had mounted a legal challenge seeking among other things to permanently restrain the commission from continuing with its investigations.

The courts on 24 June 2008 refused an application by the Prime Minister to temporarily restrain the commission from carrying out its Constitutional functions.

Even in the final hours as the acting public prosecutor was preparing to ask the Chief Justice to appoint a Tribunal to hear the charges against Sir Michael, his lawyers were in court trying desperately to get a judge to hear his application to stop the public prosecutor from referring him to the tribunal.

On 12 December 2010 Papua New Guineans were glued to their television sets as Sir Michael delivered an address to the nation about his own case and what was now unfolding before the eyes of the people of PNG.

With the festive season at hand and the courts adjourned until February for the start of the 2011 legal year, the Somare tribunal is not likely to be appointed and the hearing not likely to start before mid-March or early April.

It is also not clear how long the hearing will take and when a decision is likely to be handed down.

As Sir Michael prepares to appear before the leadership tribunal, the next in line are his own son Arthur and former treasurer Patrick Pruaitch—both of whom are also facing charges of misconduct in office.

The national government of Papua New Guinea is in tatters and their chances of holding on to office in 2012 when the nation goes to the polls is doubtful.

But in PNG politics, anything can happen no matter what the circumstances may be.

For the National Alliance Party, the question is who will lead them to the elections—a leader with enough credibility and charisma as Sir Michael.

That is the issue the party has to resolve sooner rather than later. They cannot sit and wait for the outcome of the leadership tribunal before deciding on the next parliamentary leader.

The time is right for that question to be put on the table.

It is a topic that could well split the party or unite it for the better.

But the future of the Somare grip on PNG politics is now in question. The end could very well be here now.

Sir Michael now has more than the Ombudsman Commission and the Leadership Tribunal to contend with in the new year.

Big headache

As he flew into his home town of Wewak to take some rest and visit his people, his youngest son Michael Somare Junior gave him another big headache.

The young Somare has been charged by the Wewak police for attempting to murder the Governor of East Sepik province Peter Wararu Waranaka.

It is alleged the young Somare tried to shoot the governor at his official residence in Wewak. Waranaka is a member of the National Alliance Party and a strong supporter of Sir Michael.

But his maternal uncles are demanding a K5 million compensation from Sir Michael and his family. Soon after the incident, Sir Michael went to the Governor’s residence with K20,000 and two pigs to start the peace process. That was rejected outright by the governor’s uncles.

As negotiations progressed, the people from Waranakas’s own Yangoru-Saussia Open Electorate headed for Wewak town in truckloads to demand compensation of K30 million from Sir Michael and his family.

The young Somare is out on a K1,000 surety bail from the Wewak District Court on the attempted murder charge.

But this issue is likely to have serious political consequences for Sir Michael and his National Alliance Party in the East Sepik Province.

For now the government of Sir Michael is cracking and its foundations rocking.

It is unstable and the weight of the constitutional crisis now facing Papua New Guinea could very well destroy it.

For the past eight years, the party looked solid and all attempts by the opposition to crack it had failed.

However this time, the events surrounding the Prime Minister and his leadership code charges as well as the unconstitutional election or appointment of Sir Paulias as the next Governor-General have plunged the government into a crisis it least expected.

The opposition led by former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta warned that the election of Sir Paulias was not done according to the Constitution and this has been confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Sir Mekere in a public statement urged Sir Paulias to decline to accept the appointment but Sir Paulias ignored the advice.

Papua New Guinea has never experienced any crisis of this nature in its 35 years of Independence.

This is the first time ever.

It is also a crisis created by the government itself by failing to follow the Constitution in appointing the next Governor–General.

It is also a crisis created by Sir Michael himself by failing to comply with the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership by not meeting the requirements of the law in submitting his annual leadership returns.

This is a very serious matter and the people of Papua New Guinea are certainly concerned that as head of the country and someone who has been leader of PNG for so many years could allow himself to go down this path and land himself in trouble with the Ombudsman Commission.

Oseah Philemon is a veteran journalist and former Editor of the Post Courier Newspaper in Papua New Guinea, this article was first published on Island Business and can be accessed here