PNG must put the people first, not last
31 May 2023
DANNY ANDREW
KANDEP - In recent mass media news reports in Papua New Guinea, concerns have been raised by senior officials in various government agencies that governance systems are failing.
This is serious enough in itself but especially bad for PNG as a developing nation seeking to achieve its developmental goals as enshrined in Vision 2050.
There are several contributing factors to this litany of failure that I will discuss here while also offering strategies the government could adopt to make governance systems work effectively.
The first, and I believe the most pressing issue, is the escalating prices of goods and services felt by most PNG citizens.
The impact of inflation is particularly severe as an increasing number of people fall beneath the poverty line and struggle to meet even the most basic daily needs.
One of the primary causes of inflation in PNG is excessive government expenditure on paper contracts.
The government often resorts to printing more money for its spending, although it’s become routine to blame the Russia-Ukraine war or Covid-19 for the inflation that has followed rather than PNG’s heavy reliance on imported goods and services.
PNG has a history of high government spending, with large investments being made in a few big infrastructure projects.
As the value of our currency declines against foreign currencies, as has been happening, the cost of imported goods increases. This drives up the prices of local goods and services, leading to inflation which reduces the value of people’s savings and reduces their purchasing power.
High inflation thus leads to a lower standard of living, increased poverty, and the social unrest in rural and urban areas which we are experiencing today.
Moreover, businesses like Lae Biscuit company shutting their operations make investors nervous and they are less likely to put their money into a country seen as risky.
This is now limiting economic growth and development, further exacerbating our economic problems.
To address these issues, the government needs to control its spending by cutting down on imported goods and promoting domestic production.
It will be a difficult ask, but we have to encourage foreign investment to help diversify the country’s economy and reduce reliance on imports.
By taking such approaches, Papua New Guinea PNG can work to restore its economic stability and improve people’s lives.
Another factor crippling the economy is the government’s mismanagement of public funds.
The government is seriously mishandling the economy by unnecessarily creating all kinds of entities previously run under one department.
This causes huge amounts of money to be consumed with little or no additional productivity, It is a total and reprehensible waste of public funds.
The civil aviation department has managed to split into four entities: the National Airports Corporation looks after 21 major airports; the Civil Aviation Safety Authority is the aviation regulator; NiuSky Pacific collects fees for foreign aircraft using PNG airspace; and the Air Investigation Commission investigates plane crashes.
So all four organisations have their boards, CEOs, bureaucracies and many replicated systems in what used to be the Civil Aviation Department.
The Marape government has created four entities out of one and is spending a significant amount of money and probably creating inefficiencies as well.
As the economy is in dire need, the government must cut out this unnecessary spending.
There are too many other priority areas in health, education and infrastructure.
Another example is PNG Power, viewed by the government as a liability which requires constant subsidisation.
It’s supposed to be a self-income generating entity but it is not. Once again, revenues are consumed by highly paid CEOs, managing directors, other officers and staff down the line.
PNG Power was also meant to be the department of Petroleum and Energy. But it can’t even manage itself, so now the government has created another entity, the National Energy Authority.
In trying to solve the problem of underperforming entities, the government is ploughing more money into more entities and somehow believes this will deliver the goods. It won’t; it’s just a big waste of money.
Finally, I have to mention one of the main factors contributing to failing governance in PNG.
It is non-other than corruption. Rampant corruption at all levels in both public and private sectors is the main impediment getting in the way of the progress of our nation.
As PNG has an abundance of f valuable resources, it should have been fully developed some decades back. Yet it is still in a poor state.
This is mainly due to the corrupt practices of so-called leaders, especially parliamentarians, as well as significant incompetence.
These bad practices at the highest level lead to stagnation in economic growth. Particularly, political corruption is nothing other than an abuse of power and of the people’s trust.
It is dishonest and it is a disgrace.
Just about every elected member of parliament seems to think that being a parliamentarian is an invitation to build one’s empire.
This goes beyond bribery and into nepotism, a corrupt variation of the wantok system.
Such unpleasant practices dwell at all levels of government systems and processes.
They are the root cause of various damaging issues that are dramatically evolving throughout the nation, especially rocketing unemployment, accelerating prices of goods and services price, over borrowing and deficit budgeting.
This is all happening because elected leaders and their bureaucrats in high office have been promoting corruption by performing their duties with dishonesty and greed.
In such conditions the people are denied progress and prosperity and the ability to achieve major goals and objectives.
The government needs to take immediate steps to eradicate the evil that is corruption.
Because we have freedom, people take advantage of it and do things according to their will because they know they will be safe because the law enforcement bodies are so weak in this country.
To conclude, it’s understood there are many factors which are detrimental to the progress of our nation.
I’ve described the worst of them.
PNG is in the economic doldrums when it should be a nation marked by economic growth and social stability.
Our leaders must step up to address these pressing issues. Maski tokgris tasol. Our leaders need to get to the bottom and fix the root causes of systemic corruption, mismanagement and overspending.
The alternative is highly likely to be civil disruption, disunity and dissolution.
Queensland has a law about fruit within reach.
It's governed by the Dividing Fences and Tree Act of 2011 that regulates overhanging trees onto private land.
It gives you the legal right to remove branches and if be it the fruit that's attached to the branches.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-13/can-you-pick-your-neighbours-overhanging-fruit/9144048
The problem is it both supposes a fence and respect.
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 01 June 2023 at 04:52 PM