Unitech head denies incompetence

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – The Vice Chancellor of Papua New Guinea’s Unitech in Lae says critics of his management need to substantiate their claims.

Dr Albert Schram was speaking after Works Minister Frances Awesa repeated demands for the university management and local police to be replaced after the murder of a student and university buildings were burned down two weeks ago.

Awesa says both local police and Unitech authorities had failed to do enough to avoid the violence.

But Dr Schram says the standing committee of the university’s council has endorsed the actions taken by him and his officials.

He says claims they didn’t do enough to prevent the attacks need to be supported with evidence.

“We can account for all the actions that we took and at the moment of the attacks there was a full deployment of the security guards and the police on our campus and, of course, we are very sorry that despite that the incidents still happened, but it is not that we have been negligent or sitting on information and not taking action,” he said in a statement.

Dr Schram says the full university council will sit on Tuesday and it is that body that will decide when classes will resume.

- RNZI