SIR MEKERE - THE FORGOTTEN REFORMIST By Charlie Gilichibi (Published by Post Courier, Friday 26th July 2024) A date winged its way past last week. It came and went without any fanfare. The government didn’t remember it. The people, including political watchers, historians, and anti-corruption NGOs forgot July 14. The significance of it has been left behind. For want of an iconic statesman, let me just suggest Mekere Day. On that day, 25 years ago, Sir Mekere Morauta, PNG’s greatest reformist politician, ascended the steps of Parliament House as Prime Minister. In under 3 years, he delivered so many reforms for which we seem to be thankless. 1. Financial stability. We now have a stable financial industry by shielding it from political interference. We have a strong, stable, and sound banking sector which is healthy for business and personal banking. A strong savings and loans sector with total deposits/assets standing at K2 billion. In the superannuation sector, member sav...
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