There’s no two-way about Govt system

THANK you, Dee Nesenolis, for raising the question of corruption (Jan 11). As you know, Transparency International (PNG) or elsewhere is not in the business of naming people or organisations for corruption.
It was not “critical of certain ministers” but did point out that there seemed to be one rule for the rich and powerful and another for ordinary Papua New Guineans.
TI concentrates on the systems of government and how these are made to work. As we often point out, there is nothing wrong with the systems of government in PNG. It is just that they are hardly ever followed.
The recent report (Jan 10) of a payment of K53 million in defiance of specific instructions is a case in point. That K53 million could have bought a lot of medicine or school books for less fortunate Papua New Guineans.
As Sir Michael Somare will know fully well, at least one of the ministers in the last government had previously been sidelined by the Ombudsman and others had served time for corruption.
Similarly, there are some ministers and governors that have been referred to the courts under the Leadership Code.
All TI wants is for these cases to be finalised in an open and transparent manner so the guilty can be punished and the innocent have the cloud removed from their heads. In other words, the system must be followed in an expeditious manner.
We would also like to see those people who have been mentioned in the numerous commissions of inquiry since the Cairns Conservatory and NPF inquiries have their day in court, so they too can be cleared or punished according to their misdemeanours.
The lack of action after these inquiries makes them a mockery and a vast waste of money and resources.

Michael Manning
Chairman TI PNG