DISTRAUGHT members of the United Democratic Party (UDP) have questioned Party President, Sir Thomas Chan’s response on Monday’s paper on the issue of Political Appointments (PA) under the Democratic Coalition for Change (DCC) Government.
This was following Sir Thomas’s response to critics about the big number of Political Appointees currently under the DCCG that “it is not a big deal, so long they perform the job they’re tasked to do.
Sir Thomas also made it clear that any decision agreed upon by Caucus and the Prime Ministers Office, he is happy with as UDP President.
This however did not go down well with some of the UDP members, who told this paper yesterday that Sir Thomas’s response came as a shock to them.
“It is indeed a shock to hear the Party President describing the big number of PA’s and their huge wages to be paid by tax payers as ‘not a big deal.
“For a person who had also disagreed with some of the PAs made by the DCC say that it is not a big deal is something else,” the spokesperson for the group said.
Sir Thomas previous made it clear to this paper earlier this week that Political Appointee’s (PA) job was not a big deal for him, adding that what matters is for them to perform the job they’re tasked to do to ensure that government policies are implemented.
“Some of the UDP members within the DCC have shared their concerns already and are waiting on Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s handling of this issue.
“If nothing happens then who knows what they will do? Either UDP remains the majority party in the DCC or we would see a split being created there, due to the cause of some people’s failure to act and bad decisions,” the spokesperson said.
The members meanwhile said that a majority of UDP members decided to form the government because it was the way forward for their people, however adding that currently signs of political interference are slowly creeping in.
“We might see no difference in this government compared to the previous one,” he said.
By JEREMY INIFIRI