In 1885 CONGO was a private property of King Leopold II of Belgium who named it the Congo Free State. But it was not a ‘free state’ at all because five to eight million people – more than the current population of PNG was wiped out, including the routine maiming, enslavement and murder of local tribes.

This cruelty provoked outrage among Europeans which forced the king to hand over the Congo to the Belgian government. But exploitation continued and the people fought hard to free themselves from unremitting cruelty.

Finally in 1960, the Belgian government granted independence, however five years of secessionist chaos and political instability resulted in the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the democratically elected Prime Minister. This paved way for an obscure army officer named Joseph-Desire Mobutu to take power.

At the time copper, cobalt and diamonds had replaced rubber as the Congo’s most valuable resources. Copper prices were rising and as a result the Congo had the potential to become one of the riches countries in Africa.

Yet Mobutu’s ascension to power initiated an era of corruption and widespread plunder that was to see no equal. Assuming a role akin to that of national chief, he devised a system of patronage that enriched himself and his tribe and collaborating local chieftains.
By offering cash in return for loyalty, he brought potential rivals to his sumptuous table. But many people who refused to partake in his repast were hanged, poisoned, shot or imprisoned.
Mobutu cut a flamboyant figure and set about elevating himself to godlike status. He dubbed himself the Messiah, the Sun-President, the Guide. In processions he had himself carried on a throne on the backs of his subjects.

His portrait-which showed a stern bespectacled face topped by a leopard skin hat – hung everywhere, even in churches where he had his name substituted for God’s in hymns. Among Zaireans it was rumoured that bullets could not pierce his skin that he consorted at night with identical twin beauties, that he was a sorcerer possessed of irresistible magical powers.

He maintained a fleet of Mercedes-Benzes and Rolls-Royces, built eleven palaces for himself around the country and acquired estates all over Europe, South America and North Africa. His private fortune consisting mainly of revenues stolen from the state treasury and diverted foreign aid was estimated at up to $8 billion while per capita income among his subjects dropped to the equivalent of $135 a year.

As Mobutu improvised his people, he realized that he needed a compensating ideology to justify to them his continued reign and dumped the colonial-era name Congo and rechristened the country Zaire.

He expropriated the prominent Indian, Greek and Belgian trading and plantation-owning communities and handed over their businesses to his cronies who bankrupted them. What infrastructure the Belgians had left behind crumbled and the country returned to bush: roads decayed, telephones stopped working, electricity and running water disappeared.

The copper boom ended. The western aid on which Mobutu partially relied to finance his government and fill his private coffers dried up. In 1991 and later in 1993, his army unpaid ran amok and took to looting the cities. And the people joined in the destruction of their own country.

Mobutu protected by his loyal well equipped and Israeli-trained Division retreated to safety on his helipad-equipped yacht in the middle of the Congo River and watched his country burn.

Hyperinflation rendered worthless the national currency, revolts and disturbances began afflicting the land as regularly as the seasonal rains. What government there had been withered and at least 40 percent of Zaireans suffered from chronic malnutrition.
Zaire was one of the most promising countries in Africa but became one of the poorest on earth. Yet Mobutu’s wealth continued to increase, coming now largely from black market trade in minerals.

By 1995 Mobutu was forcing Zaire through its darkest days ever, pillaging the remnants of wealth from a depleted land and an exhausted populace. The following year, a civil war led by Laurent-Desire Kabila broke out and by 1997 his forces were marching unopposed into Kinshasa the capital.

And days later with bullets pinging off the sides of his hired Antonov jet, the dictator whose full name was Joseph-Desire Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu wa za Banga which literally translates “The Cock Who Jumps on Anything That Moves” flew out of Zaire forever. Later that year he died in exile in Morocco from prostate cancer.
The experience of Zaire is hair-raising stuff. PNG is blessed with rich natural resources and diverse cultures united with one common goal to prosper as one nation, one country and one people. No blood was shed when Australia gave the country independence on a golden plater 40 years ago.

Peter O’Neill in his maiden speech soon after being sworn-in as new Prime Minister paid homage to Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare (whose government he took over when Somare was sick in a foreign country ) when he said: “It’s not easy to replace a man of such stature, but we will do our best to work in the best interest of our country.”

But in Somare’s terms as PM or any of the other prime ministers, public service pay was never delayed as it has happened this month, this year - 2016.

Note: Those who wish to find out more about the Congo should take a hold of Jeffrey Tayler's 'immensly gripping' travel account 'Facing the Congo' published in 2000.

Here is a reply from Serah Pamolak Sipani on the Sepik Forum.

It's interesting how reference is made to Costa Rica and PNG and coming from the VC, I must say, the world is such a small place now.

Costa Rica's consistent investments in health and education was possible because they had brilliant brains in their Minister for Foreign Trade who was able to bring in 140 investment projects into Costa Rica.

Anabel González with 15 years, led Costa Rica’s efforts to join the OECD, negotiated, approved, and implemented six major free trade agreements, and implemented investment climate enhancement policies that contributed to attracting over 140 new investment projects.

Interesting enough, this woman is now the overall Director for the Global Practice Group and Unit that I work under- my boss meri. So I'd say we are getting there, next to Costa Rica, just being optimistic.

So there you go! There is hope for the future, election or not!

The pursuit of wealth is an activity that seems common to humans of whatever race, colour or creed.

Just what constitutes wealth is often culture specific, ranging from animals like cattle, sheep, pigs and sea shells through to financial products like Credit Default Swaps or Collateralised Debt Obligations, the latter being so esoteric in nature as to hardly be understandable to 99% of the population.

The inherent virtues of wealth as opposed to poverty are obvious but this does not explain the drive to accumulate much, much more wealth than can sensibly be used to ensure a safe and comfortable existence.

In pre-independence PNG, the accumulation of wealth and its uses were the subject of elaborate social rules, the aim and effect of which was to protect and preserve the interests and well being of a family or clan or tribe. In short, wealth and social obligations went hand in hand.

From what I have read, this seems to be fairly typical of subsistence based, pre-capitalist economies in general.

Sadly, the creation of a cash economy very quickly changes the rules and the accumulation game begins in earnest.

A by product of all this capitalistic endeavour is the rapid destruction of the traditional usages and meaning of wealth.

In the western world and elsewhere, the rich seem increasingly disposed to flaunt their wealth in the crassest and most contemptible way.

Some compound this behaviour by lecturing the poor about their supposed bad work habits or lack of drive, saying or implying that they are wealthy because they are smarter, more talented, work harder and more willing to take risks, all good capitalist virtues.

Mostly, this type of posturing is self serving nonsense: the rich mostly inherited their wealth or just got lucky or, in many cases, acquired it through dubious means.

Some, of course, really did it earn it through their own efforts and have also made a contribution to human advancement and well being but they are the exceptions, not the rule.

So, in a PNG context we seem to have the worst of all possible worlds, where the traditional system has broken down or is being perverted, while a new wealthy elite has emerged who seek to accumulate and control more and more of the national wealth at the expense of the vast majority of the people.

This will not change unless and until sufficient numbers of Papua New Guineans decide otherwise and begin to change the law to curtail the power and influence of their oppressors.

Right now, this seems so unlikely as to be not even worth thinking about.

But, as history has proved many times, things can and do change, often very violently.

If there is any real talent, intelligence and altruism within the ranks of the PNG wealthy, they should be turning their minds to bringing about changes in the national interest before someone else decides to do so.

The lesson of history is that they would do well to remember that no matter how much wealth and power an individual may accumulate, one angry person with an AK47 can render it all irrelevant and worthless in an instant.

Just think about Louis the 16th, King Charles the 1st, Tsar Nickolas the 2nd, Nicolai Ceausescu, Muammar Gadhafi and numerous others. Wealth and power could not save them or their associates from the retribution of their people.

Thus, I would argue, self interest should impel the PNG elite to reform the country's political, bureaucratic and business systems before the matter is taken out of their hands.