The prime minister has come out to say that the arrests of his son in relation to the huge amount of money transported in bag to Hela province on the eve of polling, was only a misunderstanding. Prime Minister (PM James Marape explained that his son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and that money confiscated was meant for a local construction company and has no ulterior motive behind it. He said his son was with a group that was being given a tour of the PNG LNG facilities when the incident occurred. “They happened to be in the precinct when the cargo was delivered to another vehicle and a few of them were assumed to be in the same area with the same interest. My son had no in-put in the transportation of the money.” “The arrest took place, and we allowed the process of police to run its course and they are on bail at the moment,” said Marape. The prime minister fully knowing that this would have implications in the election, re-assured the people that this money has nothing at all to do with his election campaign, which some people including his opponents would see as. “I just want to report to the country that I don’t need money to make me win a re- election,” stressed the PM. Marape also added that it is not uncommon for large amounts of cash to be moved up to the province especially for companies to make payments to employees in rural areas. He said most of the time workers of construction companies preferred to be paid out in cash so to avoid banking fees that would be imposed on them if they have bank accounts. Therefore, he said this situation is unfortunate especially at the time when election is still going on, because large amounts of cash coming in will be very suspicious. The PM concluded by saying that this incident is now a matter of the police and would wait for the outcome of their investigations.