Opposition leader Sir Mekere Morauta said the decision was not only “self-serving and sickening” but also a complete waste of public funds, particularly when ordinary Papua New Guineans were literally living by the day to make ends meet.
“I could not believe my eyes when I picked up the (Post-Courier) newspaper this morning,” Sir Mekere said in a statement.
“It is simply not justified. It merely demonstrated total arrogance of the current leadership. Claims of the prime minister having problems with his legs on Air Niugini’s pressurized cabins are a lame excuse; it is only a camouflage,” he said.
Sir Mekere, who is also PNG Party leader, said the decision to buy the jet was not only a slap in the face of Papua New Guineans who struggled everyday to meet the rising cost of living, including money for school fees and medical expenses, but was also an act of denial on his part.
“This is the very leader who vehemently opposed the purchase of the 5 million kina Grumman 2 VIP jet in 1980 when Sir Julius Chan was prime minister,” he said.
“This issue was even taken to the 1982 general elections by Sir Michael who was the then Pangu Pati leader. Why the sudden turnaround 39 years later by the same leader in 2009? Has he forgotten his stance? Do we need an executive jet for a minority group who are already well looked after by the taxpayers? Why should taxpayers be burdened again by yet another National Alliance-led government blunder? What is the prime minister’s justification of wasting more than 128.4 million kina belonging to the taxpayers on another junket exercise in the light of the 2008 budget blowout of almost half-a-billion kina?” he asked.
Sir Mekere said while a figure of 128 million kina had been put on the purchase, it was likely to surpass 130 million kina, taking into consideration pilot training and associated costs, and asked why a cheaper option had not been looked at.
