Maladina goes to Supreme Court to stay Lelang’s reinstatement order

The National – Thursday, June 23, 2011

By JACOB POK
PUBLIC Service Minister Moses Maladina has filed a Supreme Court application to stay a National Court order that ordered the reinstatement of Joseph Lelang as secretary of National Planning and Monitoring.
The National Court last month ordered the National Executive Council to take necessary steps to look into Lelang’s contract of employment and decide on whether Lelang should be reinstated.
The court ordered the NEC to decide within 14 days and that failure would result in Lelang taking office as secretary. 
The NEC failed to meet within the 14 days and that resulted in Lelang taking his substantive position as secretary.
Yesterday, lawyer as­sisting Maladina, Arnold Amet Jr, filed a Supreme Court application to stop Lelang’s reinstatement on the basis that Lelang, among others, was accused of a criminal offence and that matter be sorted out before Lelang could take office.
However, Lelang’s law­yer, Philemon Ko­rowi, told the court he needed time to look through the stay application and the affidavit in support in order to make a response.
Presiding judge, Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia accepted and adjourned the matter to tomorrow, giving time for Lelang’s lawyer to go through the application and prepare his response.
Lelang is also facing criminal charges and the matter is pending before the committal court.
He is alleged to have broken into his own office soon after his reinstatement and stealing confidential files.
At that time the office was under the care of acting secretary Ruby Zariga. 
He was charged with breaking, entering and stealing.

Manwau wins poll case again

The National – Monday, June 20, 2011

By JACOB POK
THE Waigani Supreme Court has again declared Dr Moses Manwau the legitimate winner of the Wewak Open seat in the 2007 national election. 
A three-man bench of Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika, Justice Ambeng Kandakasi and Derek Hartshorn deli­vered the decision last  Thursday.
Manwau took over as Wewak MP from Jim Simatab last year through an election petition challenge where the court ordered a recount of votes and declared Manwau the winner.
Simatab challenged the court’s decision under the slip rule application on the basis that the court had made errors in its decision and should correct those errors. 
He asked the court to reverse its decision and find out whether it acted without jurisdiction. 
Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen, PNG Electoral Commission and Martin Maingu, the returning officer for Wewak open electorate, were named as party supporting Simatab’s application while Manwau opposed the slip rule application. 
The court had to apply the principles governing the slip rule application and the Supreme Court Act to establish whether it had acted without jurisdiction or caused any errors. 
The three-man-bench affirmed there was no error and that they were satisfied that they were entitled to make the declaration of Manwau as the winner for the seat pursuant to the results of the recount of votes.
The judges were satisfied that the slip rule principles were followed and that there was no error in their decision. 
They declared Manwau the legitimate winner of the Wewak open seat. 
Outside court, a satisfied Manwau said justice had prevailed.
But he challenged the electoral commission to conduct elections properly and fairly. 
He said the Electoral Commission must be transparent and must accomplish its aim for a free, far and honest election process in order to avoid such court battles. 
He said he had been in and out of court for the past four-and-a-half-years when he should have been serving his people.
“This election petition is one of the long, turbulent and painful petitions.
“Now I have only six months to be in parliament before the next election and cannot not do much for my people in the electorate,” Manwau said.

NHC boss ordered to appear in court

The National – Friday, June 17, 2011

By JACOB POK

THE acting managing director of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) and its legal officer were on Wednesday ordered by the Waigani National Court to appear in court today. The court ordered that failing to appear would result in contempt charges.

The matter arose from a dispute over a property in Port Moresby. 

The plaintiff in the matter, Mokonda Rema, had claimed that NHC had been accepting rental deduction from the property, a house on Paga Hill, when the house was alleged to have been sold to former chief secretary  Isaac Lupari. 

Rema  argues that he was still paying rentals to NHC without knowing that the property had reportedly been transferred to another person.

Rema’s lawyer told the court that NHC’s acting mana­ging director Tarcissius Muganaua and its legal officer had failed to co­operate in resolving the issue.

In addition the lawyer said NHC had  not been assisting the court despite being advised to do so on numerous occasions.

The matter was  before Justice Ambeng Kandakasi who ordered that all concerned must  at­tend court.

Kandakasi said he understood that the acting ma­naging director and the legal officer had generally failed to co­operate to assist the court in the matter. 

It is understood the NHC is under the care of Muganaua after former managing director Paul Asakusa was dismissed.