BY PAUL OATES

AFTER A CONSIDERABLE period of enforced absence, PNG’s parliament reconvened this week only to find that by Thursday morning, the acting Speaker had to adjourn the sitting yet again due to a lack of a quorum (which is 33 members).

Many government members were elsewhere, debating who might succeed PM Somare as prime minister.

The excuse given by Speaker Jeffery Nape as to why he suspended parliament months ago, was that necessary renovations were needed to parliament. But it begs the question of who or what is more important; Parliament or the prime minister.

Apparently parliament has been without air conditioning since 2007 and, although there are plans to have the unit repaired and K1 million had been allocated for the work, nothing has been done.

The Speaker, whose job it is to manage repairs to parliament, has been unable to effect this work over the months of enforced absence of MP’s due to his own inaction.

What a pity he wasn’t as competent in management as he has been in suspending his country’s Parliament?

One could perhaps observe that, thanks to Mr Nape, the PNG parliament remains be full of hot air.