Francis Awesa
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Francis Awesa (born 16 August 1951) is a Papua New Guinean politician. A former Premier of the Southern Highlands under the old provincial government system, he was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007 to 2017, representing the electorate of Imbonggu Open. A
Papua New Guinea Party The Papua New Guinea Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 2007 by former Prime Minister and Leader of the People's Democratic Movement, Mekere Morauta, along with MP Wake Goi. The party won 8 out of 109 seats in the ...
member in his first term, he subsequently switched to the People's National Congress after PNC leader Peter O'Neill became Prime Minister in 2011. He was Minister for Transport, Works and Civil Aviation (2011), Minister for Transport and Works (2011-2012) and Minister for Works and Implementation (2012-2017) in the government of Peter O'Neill.


Business career and provincial politics

Awesa was educated at Kiburu Primary School and Mendi High School before graduating with a law degree from the University of Papua New Guinea in 1975 and a diploma in management from the Australian Administrative Staff College in 1978. He worked as an executive in business, for the
Papua New Guinea Electricity Commission Papua most commonly refers to: * New Guinea, the world's second-largest island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean * Western New Guinea, the western half of the island of New Guinea, which is administered by Indonesia. ** Papua (province), an Indonesi ...
and as provincial secretary to the Southern Highlands provincial government. In 1994, he was elected Premier of the Southern Highlands, following the lifting of a two-year suspension of the Southern Highlands government. However, in 1995, the system of decentralised provincial government was abolished, and Awesa became deputy governor under national MP Dick Mune. He was subsequently sacked from that role by Mune after a series of disagreements. He subsequently returned to business after leaving provincial politics, managing Mendi construction company Global Constructions. In February 2002, he formed the Southern Highlands Peace Commission in conjunction with bishops
Stephen Joseph Reichert Stephen Joseph Reichert (14 May 1943) is a Roman Catholic archbishop-emeritus. Born in Leoville, Kansas, United States, Reichert was ordained to the priesthood for the Capuchin order on 27 September 1969. On 3 February 1995, Reichert was appointed ...
and Clarence Kavali in an attempt to end tribal fighting that had resulted in more than 120 deaths, and personally headed the initiative. The commission was successful in brokering a four-week ceasefire deal in March and a permanent settlement for the three-year-long conflict in May. He contested the Southern Highlands governorship as an independent at the 2003 supplementary election, held after the 2002 national election failed in the province due to fighting, but finished third behind Hami Yawari.


First term in the National Parliament

Awesa was elected to the National Parliament in the Imbonggu seat at the 2007 election for the
Papua New Guinea Party The Papua New Guinea Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 2007 by former Prime Minister and Leader of the People's Democratic Movement, Mekere Morauta, along with MP Wake Goi. The party won 8 out of 109 seats in the ...
, and was appointed as the party's deputy leader after the election. In September 2008, he was a lone voice of dissent against large government tax breaks for an
ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
natural gas project. He repeatedly attacked the Somare government for alleged corruption, declaring at a Western Highlands rally in October 2008 that the last five years had been "riddled with nothing but corruption" and that "Satan is the boss of the National Parliament" In December 2009, he reportedly declined an offer from Somare to become Minister for Internal Security. He vocally supported a 2010 court decision which weakened the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates such as to reinstate the right of MPs to resign from parties mid-term and limit restrictions on their ability to vote independently. In September 2010, Awesa shifted to the crossbenches, declaring that he no longer had confidence in Opposition Leader
Mekere Morauta The Right Honourable Sir Mekere Morauta (12 June 1946 – 19 December 2020) was a Papua New Guinean politician and economist who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1999 to 2002. Inheriting a depressed economy and a fra ...
. In August 2011, after Somare's ouster, he was appointed to the interim ministry of new Prime Minister Peter O'Neill as Minister of Works, Transport and Civil Aviation, although he later lost the civil aviation portfolio. In this role, he was required to deal with fallout from a series of disasters, including the October 2011
Airlines PNG Flight 1600 On 13 October 2011, Airlines PNG Flight 1600, a Dash 8 regional aircraft on a domestic flight from Lae to Madang, Papua New Guinea, crash-landed in a forested area near the mouth of the Gogol River, after losing all engine power. Only four of ...
, a fatal January 2011 landslide and the February 2012 sinking of the
MV Rabaul Queen MV ''Rabaul Queen'' was a passenger ferry owned by the Papua New Guinea company Rabaul Shipping. The ship, built in Japan in 1983, operated on short runs in that country, before being brought to Papua New Guinea in 1998 and plying a re ...
. He was awarded an
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in July 2012 for service to commerce and politics as a Member of Parliament and Minister for State. During the
2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...
, which he recontested for O'Neill's People's National Congress, he was involved in a number of controversies, with opponents and poling officials claiming to have been threatened by his supporters and an attempt to have him charged with contempt of court for breaching a court order restraining him from interfering with the counting of boxes. In late July, the electorate returning officer declared that his opponent had won, while the Chief Electoral Commissioner declared that Awesa had won, resulting in the returning officer going into hiding with a warrant for his arrest. On 31 July, the standoff was resolved with the Commissioner declaring Awesa elected following legal advice.


Second term in the National Parliament

Awesa was appointed Minister for Works and Implementation after the 2012 election, losing the transport portfolio. In October 2012, his re-election was challenged in the National Court by opponent Pila Niningi. After the court dismissed Awesa's attempt to have the case thrown out as vexatious, it then shifted the trial from Mendi to Mount Hagen due to threats from his supporters. However, in January 2013, Niningu's challenge was dismissed on the grounds of incompetency, with leave to appeal being denied in April 2014. In his ministerial role, Awesa was faced with addressing a K1 billion backlog in road maintenance, widespread criticism over delays and misappropriated funds for repairing poor-quality roads in
Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
, a number of key road projects, including a major bypass in Hela Province, issues of land compensation, and ongoing problems surrounding landslide damage on and blockades of the
Highlands Highway The Highlands Highway, sometimes known as the Okuk Highway, is the main land highway in Papua New Guinea. It connects several major cities and is vital for the movement of people and goods between the populous Highlands region and the coast. F ...
by disgruntled protestors. In November 2014, the
Ombudsman Commission An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
referred Awesa to the public prosecutor over alleged misconduct in office, which was referred to a
leadership tribunal Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
in May 2015. It was alleged that he had "unlawfully engrossed a public easement for personal use and in the process denied the public right of access to the easement, causing disharmony and difficulty". He was cleared by the Leadership Tribunal in July 2015, after which he blasted the Ombudsman for pursuing "trivial" proceedings. In November 2015, Awesa was revealed to be a co-director of and significant shareholder in Hornibrook NGI Ltd, which had received a multimillion-dollar contract for the Australian
Manus Regional Processing Centre The Manus Regional Processing Centre, or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities. The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Aus ...
on Manus Island, sparking conflict of interest concerns. He was defeated by Pila Ninigi at the 2017 election.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awesa, Francis Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Living people University of Papua New Guinea alumni Papua New Guinea Party politicians People's National Congress (Papua New Guinea) politicians 1951 births