Governor Rufina slams police on eviction at Baruni 

The Governor for Central Province Rufina Peter has condemned the actions of the police and other authorities behind the eviction of the Baruni Settlers following the rape and murder of late Margaret Gamaru Gabriel at the water Mark Estate near Baruni in Port Moresby.

Governor Rufina said the police need to do their job within the laws, which also means identifying the perpetrators responsible for the crime and not carrying out an eviction that has affected the lives of innocent mothers and children.

Ms. Rufina shares her heartfelt condolence with the families of late Margaret and like many others, demands justice but she believes the main perpetrators are still out there while a knee jerk reaction to address the crime has cost the homes of families that have lived many years along Baruni.

She supports the calls made by Prime Minister James Marape, NCD Governor, Powes Parkop, and statements made by the police saying that such an inhuman act should stop.

However, while commenting on the eviction exercise that's being carried out at Baruni, Governor Ruffina says it's not the first time.

Madam Ruffina said the Goilala has been residing in the Land of Motu-Koita before independence, and when such incidents happen continuously, it's shows that there is something lacking somewhere, and she urged leaders to be contextualize before say or take any actions.

"I want to say that is a specific case that leaders must understand the context of people.

"When we talk about Baruni community and Goilala communities in the different parts of National Capital District, the context is this, the Goilala people were here during pre-independence time. They are the ones who were the bucket carriers.

"They have seen this city develop. They have given mandate after mandate to leaders who occupy the seats of NCD, including the governor's seat. What programs have they made specifically to deal with issues of the Goilala communities at 2 Mile Hill, at Vadavada, at Baruni, at Six Mile?

"They are always put into the hard-to-do basket of development matters of NCD. And put in the periphery, and how do you expect them to come up and contribute to development in the city?Let's be specific to context and be relevant in that. And responsible in the way that we talk about issues," Governor Rufina said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Rufina is calling on the NCD Governor and other local MPs to come together and come up with a proper solution.