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Sports |
Words of caution for Sir Arnold
AS soon as the Madang governor was sworn in two weeks ago, a
number of events have led many of his voters to ask themselves
whether they made the right choice.
He was the former chief justice and many in the country know him
in that capacity. But not many people in the rural areas of
Madang have seen Sir Arnold in his village in Madang or in the
remote areas of Madang province.
Some of us voted him because of his campaign on good leadership
and to fix the problems of the last 10 years.
Leadership with integrity was lacking and Sir Arnold has what it
takes to bring back Madang to its heyday.
However, upon his swearing-in as the governor in front of the
Sir Bato Bultin provincial government complex, many on-lookers,
supporters and the curious have been asking questions if Sir
Arnold could come out and openly air his views to clear the
doubts.
The following were
noted during his swearing-in speech and his subsequent meetings
with public servants of Madang province soon after.
Firstly, as a lawyer, Sir Arnold should know very well that
there exist the (imaginary) line of demarcation between public
service machinery and legislative arm of governance.
Good leaders grasp this when coming into office. If one does not
grasp this fact, real problems appear and the first to note this
weakness are the public servants.
Sir Arnold has summoned district administrators for briefing,
along with divisional advisers, deputy provincial administrators
and the provincial administrator himself. I am questioning this
act, as legislators are not implementers, and vice versa.
It is appropriate for the governor to form an opinion regarding
the status of the provincial government, districts and the
public service in Madang after speaking with the provincial
administrator.
How can a governor get briefings directly from divisional
advisers and district administrators?
I hope this is not an act of not knowing what one is doing or is
he just pleasing some people?
The governor is a legislator, not an implementer (public
servant). The public servants in Madang are alert and are
already orchestrating the governor’s downfall.
Please get to know your line of command, so the presidents, ward
members and public servants in Madang would do likewise.
During his speech, school children were used to march from their
schools to the provincial government complex. Most of the crowd
during the ceremony were school children from Holy Spirit,
Kusbau, Lutheran Day and Jomba primary schools in Madang town.
The kids did not go to school and were told to march and stand
under the hot sun until the swearing-in ceremony was over.
I was upset because my daughter missed class for a day in an
event that was not marked on the school calendar.
Why use school children when the governor’s office should have
invited local people from all over Madang to attend. I see this
as child abuse because my daughter was used to march, stand
under the
hot sun, and then sent home after the event.
The speech was terrific, but to some of us, it was nothing but
hot air. This is because you preach about God and Christian
principles, which produced good leadership just as you
campaigned during elections. This campaign policy got you
elected by most of us throughout Madang.
But now, your grand speech prioritised on free universal
education for children of Madang. Then you went on to preach
about delivery of basic services to people, and you would make
that as another top priority, after your briefs with all senior
public servants and the list goes on.
Sir Arnold, you are a politician, not a preacher or a public
servant.
Ten years of bad leadership for Madang province has gone to
waste with Kas, Nengo, Musa, Yali and Kuip. I do not want to see
you meddling with the affairs of public service structures of
Madang.
Sir Arnold, it’s time to walk your talk. Show your true
leadership style as you have preached.
Panu Fun
Madang
 
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