Warap appointed PPC for North Fly Command

North Fly Command in Western has a new Provincial Police Commander [PPC] in Superintendent David Warap.

Warap was formally welcomed at Kiunga Police Station yesterday, taking over from Inspector Anjap Minata who served as acting PPC for more than two years.

In welcoming Superintendent Warap, Border Command Assistant Commissioner Steven Francis said Border Command will support him and pledged to continue the good work left by the outgoing commander.

“On behalf of Border Command, I welcome Superintendent David Warap to the Pawarim Boda Team. He brings policing leadership experience and will continue the important work of strengthening police services in North Fly,” ACP Francis said.

Superintendent Warap now takes responsibility for police operations across North Fly Command whilst Inspector Minata returns to his role as the Police Station Commander [PSC] for Kiunga Police Station.

Francis acknowledged inspector Minata's leadership and thanked him for keeping the law and order steady across North and Middle Fly Districts.

ACP Francis said Minata showed strong leadership and discipline and gave clear direction to operations through difficult times and maintained good working relationships with local communities, resource developers and business stakeholders.

“Inspector Minata has served our stakeholders well and provided steady leadership to police personnel and communities in North Fly and Middle Fly,” ACP Francis said.

He also raised concerns over command appointments, saying decisions affecting field commands should be made with proper consultation and assessment from supervisors on the ground.

“As the immediate supervisor on the ground, we should be consulted on decisions affecting our commands. There must be clear standards for performance assessment, leadership evaluation and appointments to positions of responsibility,” he said.

While the change was a decision of the Commissioner, ACP Francis said performance, leadership and command capability must be properly assessed and recognised.

ACP Francis said policing in Western Province is very important.

"We are at a strategic location sharing two international borders with Indonesia to the west and Australia to the south. The command handles local policing and border security across tough remote land, river and sea areas including the Fly River system."