Porgera’s call for help
In a district, so fragmented by lawlessness and an absence of government service and community leadership, few individual leaders in Porgera who have been on the ground trying to maintain hope for the people were feeling the glimmer of hope begin to diminish as community and local stakeholder efforts continue to fall over toward resolving the Nomali and Aiyala conflict.
Higher level of intervention
Local female leader, business woman and President of the Porgera Women In Business (WiB), Elizabeth Iarume has called for a higher level of government intervention and leadership to resolve the ongoing tribal conflict in Porgera.
Mrs Iarume said if there was ever a time Porgera needed real leadership, it was now.
“The fighting has escalated and guns rule by day and night here in Porgera.
“Innocent lives taken, communities displaced and homes and properties in the thousands destroyed, for how long?
“We need a higher level of leadership to come in and take control of the situation.“
Stability
“We can go on fighting over the shares and benefits of the New Porgera mine, but all of these will come later, or not at all, if we don’t fix and stabilise law and order in this Valley,” Mrs Iarume expressed. Similar concerns were raised by the Porgera Urban Town Councilor Peter Mark Malipu who lost his son in the tribal conflict at Paiam last year.
“We have a leadership crisis on the ground,” Mr Malipu said. “Instead of uniting for a common cause to fight the lawlessness, leaders are instead infighting.
“The district leadership needs to be present.
“It needs to monitor and report on the situation on the ground to government for us to get real help.”