Lupari: Embrace Christian principles

Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari.

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, January 15, 2017 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)



CHIEF Secretary to Government, Isaac Lupari, has tasked the Department of Community Development, Youth and Religion to make the Christian faith play an even greater role in both the public service and that of the formal to tertiary education system.

He made his proposals known during the public service dedication service held during the week, by saying that the public service machinery to observe the dedication service in all levels of the public service machinery to hold services to commit the year to God.

“Thank Secretary Anna Solomon and her staff, and I have two proposals. You have to make this an annual event.”

“It started in 2017, in 2018 every public service in the country whether you are in the ward, LLG, the district, at the province must celebrate the beginning of the year with a dedication service.”

“Secondly I have a second proposal, I want to see you and I and everyone here to now convince the ministers we need to support to make teaching of God, the teaching of bible studies compulsory in all our schools right from elementary to university,” Mr Lupari said.

Community Development Secretary, Anna Solomon, agreed with the Chief Secretary on the incorporation of the dedication service into the public service calendar, adding that her department would enable various government departments to host the event for respective years next year onwards.

She also supported the call for bible studies to be incorporated into the education systems in place, pointing out the cascading positive effects it will have on generations of children coming through education systems.

“Sometimes I think if we all followed the bible we would not work so hard to create these laws. I had to work so hard with my department to create the Lukautim Piklinini Act, Gender Based Violence- all these things are defined in the bible,” Ms Solomon said.

“In our activity plan this year we’ve included early childhood learning and development. We are calling on all churches who run Sunday school, who run Sabbath school to extend the number of days. Why are we just keeping it to Saturday and Sunday?”

“You (Churches) are some of the best early learning teachers and you could do more by extending the number of days because we want our children to grow up in the kind of environment that defines respect to any other human.”