| Business |
Focus again on governors
NEWLY appointed Minister for Housing
and Urban Development Andrew Kumbakor displayed great enthusiasm
for the role of provincial governors during a one-day briefing
on Wednesday. We have recently raised once again the issue of
the regional Members of Parliament, most of whom become
provincial governors.
As the law stands, a candidate who succeeds in winning a
regional seat has a choice.
He or she can either take up the position of provincial governor
or if a National Government portfolio is offered, accept that
appointment. Acceptance involves relinquishing the appointment
as provincial governor.
We have pointed out that such a system is unfair in the event of
a regional member choosing to accept a national portfolio. The
people are denied the right to vote directly for his
replacement, a matter left to the other MPs to decide.
The subsequent choice of replacement governor may well not meet
with the approval of the majority of provincial voters. Mr
Kumbakor was emphatic that all the governors should “mobilise as
one to implement Government policies.”
From the Government point of view it is not hard to understand
the constant emphasis on political stability. In the last few
days, it has featured in a number of statements made by senior
Government stalwarts.
But PNG is a democracy.
The policies put forward by the Government can only be
translated into law and be implemented by the public service
with the approval of Parliament. And that Parliament includes
the Opposition, Members who are not necessarily supportive of
each and every Government initiative.
This means that some governors may find themselves strongly
opposing certain Government policies and proposed pieces of
legislation.
The Opposition is not some powerless adjunct to the Government
of the day, but rather the foundation of an alternative
government for the nation. Nor is its role simply to acquiesce
in Government proposals and policy initiatives. A competent
Opposition has its own agenda, its own direction and above all
its own policy stance on issues before the House.
How does Mr Kumbakor see those governors who are staunch
Opposition supporters?
Will their unwillingness to support Government initiatives from
time to time lead to the savaging of their provincial budgets
and pressure from Government members upon governors to change
sides and back the Government?
Nobody is suggesting that the Opposition should be hell-bent on
blocking each and every piece of Government legislation on the
floor of the House.
But nobody should deny that the prospect of all governors
working together in total amity to blindly further the policies
of the Government is a denial of the democratic principles that
form the foundation of our Constitution.
There has been a marked tendency in the past two or three weeks
for the incoming Government to assume that it has a mandate to
sweep all before it.
We do not believe that is so.
Indeed interpreting the real intention of the voters in Election
2007 is not likely to produce a clear result in the near future.
Readers are reminded that 21 alleged “independents” threw their
support behind the National Alliance party following the
election. The issue of the role of independents remains a thorn
in the side of any PNG administration and we have previously
urged the new Government to address the matter.
And it may be significant that a poll conducted by The National
appeared to show that more than 80% of respondents did not
support the installation of another Somare-led Government.
Whether that is indicative of the nation at large – the sample
was small and the method used does not claim to be
scientifically accurate – it certainly suggests that complete
unanimity among governors is unlikely to occur in the immediate
future.
Does Mr Kumbakor’s enthusiasm for an unquestioning body of
governors indicate a change of policy towards those positions
and their influence on the daily lives of the people?
The intention of having governors was in part to empower the
provinces and to bring development closer to the people.
That does not mean that all Government policy must be slavishly
and uncritically followed. We believe that the Government should
tell the nation of its intentions with regard to the Regional
Members positions and the governing role.
 
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