This afternoon I had the pleasure of witnessing the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Hela Provincial Government and Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary to launch Hela Provincial Police Reservist Program.
Under the partnership Hela Provincial Government will provide the funding while Police Force will recruit and train 120 young men and women to be deployed throughout the province.
With so many grade 12 leavers pushed out of the system due to limited placements in tertiary institutions and employment opportunities, they will now be engaged as reserve members of the Police Force to help address escalating law and order issues in their communities.
This initiative is part of the many programs being developed in response to the recent massacre of 28 women and children.
Governor of Hela Hon. Philip Undialu and I visited the province last month to assess the situation and ensure it was being addressed.
We visited the burial site of those killed and spoke to family members directly affected. We appealed to the community not to retaliate and allow the Marape Steven Government to address the issue. We also appealed for those involved to surrender.
Days after our visit one of the main parties alleged to be involved surrendered and is currently in Police custody.
Provincial Reservist Program was initiated by Acting Deputy Commissioner for Police David Manning and Governor for Hela.
Today, Acting Commissioner for Police Francis Tokura ratified the agreement at Police Headquarters.
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