A petition to establish ICAC within 100 days of new parliament
26 July 2017
KEITH JACKSON
COMMUNITY advocacy group Act Now has launched a petition calling on newly elected MPs to establish an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) within 100 days of parliament resuming on Friday week.
You can read and sign the petition here: http://actnowpng.org/takeaction/petition-we-need-independent-commission-against-corruption-now
“Everyone knows corruption is a massive problem in Papua New Guinea," said campaign coordinator Eddie Tanago (pictured). "People are dying unnecessarily every day because of the rampant stealing and mismanagement.”
Act Now says a well-resourced, permanent and politically independent ICAC is desperately needed.
It was much promised under the previous government of Peter O’Neill but never eventuated, even though corruption continues to flourish in PNG.
"This new petition is urging our newly elected MPs to take responsibility and do something effective by immediately establishing an ICAC,” said Mr Tanago.
Act Now said the 100 day timetable is achievable as the legislation for an ICAC has been drafted and the necessary constitutional amendment was passed by Parliament in 2016.
It is estimated as much as half the government’s annual development budget is stolen every year.
Police have said K1.5 billion went missing in 2016 alone.
PNG is ranked by Transparency International in the bottom 20% of all countries for corruption.
"The consequences of corruption are dire,” said Mr Tanago.
“Vital health and education services are starved of money and mismanagement and abuse further impede service delivery.
“Then there are the illegal land deals and illegal logging.
"Existing anti-corruption mechanisms have proven to be ineffective and a new body with full powers of investigation and prosecution is urgently needed.
"In 2012, the incoming government promised to establish an ICAC as a major step in the fight against corruption.
“But over the next five-years it failed to fulfil that promise. Our new MPs must ensure they do better.”
With weapons and without medicines, a population imperilled. An 'ICAC' is an option of approach for matters of reproach, a procedural tool having worthy effect in other domains.
Not being a citizen of PNG, nonetheless I support use of actnowpng petition, and online gave my personal message: 'Forty years of learning-on-the-job after eighty years of being induced and made to engage with humanity globally, are surely sufficient to warrant uptake of the tools of governance of the 21st Century, so furthering knowledge and skills of PNG people's self-determination and self-management, while curbing criminality that lessens egalitarianism'.
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 27 July 2017 at 10:06 AM