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We must finish what we start
THE world is a muddled wasteland of
discarded ideas and substances.
There are few things that are new, untried or unexplored. Life
springs up afresh from the fertile compost of dead matter.
Water is used, dries up and rises as vapour and returns as clean
water.
Whether idea or substance, some things only has a new feel about
them in the mind of the ignorant.
Such advise should be timely for the new cabinet.
Shortly, each minister will try to outdo the other with a
cacophony of policy statements, strategies, programmes and time
tables.
Most, they will find out in time, will not be implemented and
more embarrassingly, a greater number will be a rehash of
something that has already been said or attempted.
After 30 years of governance, there is little that is new and
untested.
Yet the socio-economic landscape of the country remains
desolate, in deep want and desperate for good governance.
And so, the big question for the greater number of them, many of
whom will have been in and out of Government for a good many of
the 30 years, will be – which is the right answer for PNG’s
socio-economic woes?
To my mind, there is no magic recipe, no grand design that is
yet to be discovered.
A lot has to do with the finish – not the initiation. Over the
years, as a nation, our finish has never been good.
Part of the reason, of course, has been consistency and
continuity.
No one government except for the last Somare-led one, has been
in office for a full five-year term of Parliament so that
policies and programmes have had a life span of not more than
two years at the most.
The constant shift in emphasis and focus has seen a lot of good
ideas tried out for a few months and then those have been
dismantled in favour of other ideas from a new bunch in
Government.
As a result, PNG faces a dilemma that so few countries in the
world face – in a country so strikingly rich, its people are so
desperately poor.
Like the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings in Beijing will in
time create the tornado in New Mexico, the big problems PNG
faces today are the end result of so many simple things left
undone or unfinished over the years.
One careless can flung out the bus window becomes a city’s
litter problem; one thoughtless spit of betel juice on the
pavement becomes a nation’s stigmata.
If the little things can be done right, if we really work eight
hours in the day, and discipline the errant child, and exercise
fidelity in the marriage, the cumulative effect will be felt
nationally.
There is no big bang theory in a life of democratic governments,
only dictatorships.
Therefore, at the start of this new five-year term of
Government, it is positive to know that for the first time since
Independence one party has been in power for a full five years
and is entering its second five-year term.
It will not do to change decisions or policies in mid flight
now.
It would be a breath of fresh air if programmes that were
initiated in the last term can be continued into the next five
years.
The excellent treasury roll out programme and the accompanying
District Service Improvement Programme (DSIP) must be continued
with all urgency.
This programme finally brought excitement down to all 89
districts of PNG.
Through it, people received banking and postal services as well
a communication to the outside world.
Police, Correctional officers, medical worker, educational
inspectors, agricultural extension workers and many people were
dispersed into remote districts.
Cars, boats, buildings, roads and bridges received urgent
maintenance or were supplied fresh.
Somehow, in the last 12 months of the last Government, the
ministries changed – from Bart Philemon to Sir Rabbie Namaliu
and with John Hickey and suddenly this massive and positive
government undertaking seemed to slip off the rails lost
momentum.
Investment in capital works and in human capital must continue.
We only need to look to our neighbours to know the wonderful
effects important infrastructure and investment in education
has.
Our massive neighbour Indonesia had 60% of its population living
in abject poverty around 1960 but by 1990, it had been reduced
by a massive 35% to 15%. Even though that figure represents
nearly 30 million people living in poverty, the gains made in
four decades is nothing short of phenomenal.
The gains in Malaysia are equally noteworthy where poverty
levels at 18% were reduced by half within 10 years and then
nearly halved again.
Thailand has shown similar gains.
Investment in health and education, therefore, must remain a
priority of any administration.
Where there is consistent efforts in that direction are made,
the gains are visible.
Morobe and Enga provincial governments have since 1997 spent
millions each year on supporting education of students to high
schools and tertiary institutions. Today, the students from
these two provinces easily outnumber those from other provinces
in colleges around the country.
In time, the student numbers will translate to employment
figures.
All things being equal, improved education should translate to
improved livelihoods.
The bottom line always is consistency and perseverance.
If something is continued long enough, it will bear fruit.
It has to start with stability and for the first time in a very
long time, PNG has passed that hurdle.
Hopefully, from political stability we can see some consistency
in policies and programmes of the Government.
 
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