The National | Editorial | 27th August 2024

The third-tier is the most important in the land by virtue of it being close to the people. 

The Local Level Government (LLG is also the least important and least resourced among the three tiers of government.

It does not even have a legal arrangement of its own and has to hang on the tailcoat of the provincial governments under the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Government. 

For the people's mandate, it is tagged to the Organic Law on the National and Local Level Government Elections which provides for both national and local level elections to be run concurrently separated by three months but, in its execution, the poor LLG has suffered inordinate delays and outright disrespect on more than one occasion. 

As a final insult, Parliament in 2014 passed the district development authorities (DDA) that now receive direct funding from the budget through the district service improvement program (DSIP), leaving the LLG to perform its duties b whatever means available. 

All of these anomalies and frustrations, intended or otherwise, have been gathered into a number of lawsuits now before the courts. The latest of them has been brought to the supreme court by one of the oldest LLGs in the land, Mt Giluwe. 

Mt Giluwe LLG has a section 19 Suprem Court reference seeking interpretations on certain important questions relating to applications of various laws which impact the duties responsibilities and operations of LLGs. The laws included in the reference constitute the following: 

1. Constitution sections.

•  50 - right to vote and stand for public office
• 105 -
• 100 - Exercise of legislative power 
• 187A.187B,187C - Provincial and Local Level Governments. 

2. Organic Law on Provincial and Local level Government sections: 

• 34- Duration of Office
• 33A - District development authorities

3. Organic Law on National and Local Level Government Elections section: 

•  234

4. District Development Authority Act. 

Nineteen questions are referred to the court. Without repeating all these questions, they pertain to the following main issues: 

1. The concurrent running of elections for the national and local level government elections as per section 34 (1) of the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Government

2. Weather or not the delay to hold the LLG election concurrently during the 2022 National Elections was unconstitutional and if it is, can Parliament be dissolved to correct the anomaly.  

3. What authority determines whether the LLG president is elected by the people or by the ward councilors and whether he current plan to do both is constitutional?

4. Whether or not the actions of Parliament in 1995 in repealing and replacing the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments with the Organic Law and Provincial and Local Level Governments had the effect of centralizing the powers of provinces and districts back with the central government contrary to the intent of Parliament to introduce greater autonomy by decentralizing powers to provinces. 

5. Whether the establishment of the DDA conflicts with and is contrary to the intent and purpose of the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Government an usurps it powers.

6. And, finally, the role of a politician and a public servant are to be determined fully as some confusion seems to have risen in the DDA scheme of things. 

These are altogether very important questions and go to the heart of the current uncomfortable relationships between the three tiers of government. 

The Supreme Court is the right authority to put to rest the uneasiness that has affected the uneven delivery of goods across the country. 

Without entering the legal arguments in any way, we say that the LLG is the oldest in the Land. In 1951 PNG Ordinance from colonial Australian Government authorized the local government council system. 

Some of the most important roads, bridges, towns and cities in the land have been built on the strength of this system. 

It cannot and must never be ignored out of hand.