Heed Nonggorr’s critical observation


THE critical observation by Dr John Nonggorr on the current level of corruption in the country and the social effect it is having on the behaviour and attitude of today’s generation must receive the same degree of attention from all levels of government like the HIV/AIDS issue (Sept 28).
It is not only the HIV/AIDS sword that hangs above our head. Corruption is a double-edged sword too. I wish to back this grave concern in the following manner.
From the outset, let me establish that it takes generations to change a society from an undeveloped to a developed status. And, by the law of nature in today’s hostile and competitive world, the change is expected to be progressive always with successive generations and not regressive or stagnant. The law is such that the success or failure of the next generation is dependent on the performance of the previous generation.
I have lived and worked among the rural population since 1986. The supporting comment presented here is therefore based mainly on personal encounters from those many years. It is putting together the two ends of the spectrum, government policies on one end and expected results on the other end, and drawing the conclusion from today’s generation perspective, who by far, form the bulk of the nation’s population.
Regardless of every effort made by successive governments and the workforce over the years, I am afraid I must say we have not built a steady, stable, vibrant and progressive society that should guarantee a prosperous future for every child born today. And this is the nightmare of today’s generation.
Incidentally, I do not think very much was built either for them. They believe they literary scraped through at the early stage of their lives in the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s living off from the left over of the colonial era, so to speak. The seniors today had the best part and replaced little or nothing.
Theirs is a state akin to being nailed in a coffin alive. And I think they are indeed. Below is a brief description of the scenario, which is nothing new to the successive governments and the bureaucracy.
Health centres and aid posts in the rural areas that provided 80-100% chances of survival for a very sick person 30-40 years ago now provide only 60% or even less. In the worst-case scenario, nothing. Many have been closed, others have been downgraded while a few are surviving on the mercy of some good Samaritans.
Primary, vocational and secondary schools that provided 80-100% chances of successful completion for every child now provide only 60% or even less.
Vital road infrastructure that provided the impetus for steady economic growth and improved social services in the pre-independence era and at the early stages of the post-colonial era, have been reclaimed by Mother Nature.
There no longer exists good governance and effective management of the past that ensured every penny spent equalled the amount of work done and achieved the expected results.
Our parents and grandparents were not regular wage earners. But there was always a place and the means to go and sell their copra, cocoa or coffee to pay school fees from the earnings. The trees are still there. But we cannot do what they did because the facilities no longer exist. We were privileged to complete our primary and secondary education without having to worry about unpaid or incomplete payment of school fees. The same is not true for many children today.
Airfare for a 15-minute flight from the nearest town to a remote outstation has sky rocketed from K27 to K230 in 20 years. Lives are still lost at sea every year for those living in the islands because of such horrendous transport costs.
The gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger by the day. George Orwell’s Animal Farm seems real for PNG today.
In a sense, there really is no tomorrow for anyone living or born today. Even today has gone past its expected productivity period without achieving much in tangible terms. We are living on borrowed time.
The country just held its general election. Every candidate, losers and winners alike, went out in force telling every eligible voter that they had the answers to poverty, poverty in every sense of the word – politically, socially and economically. The same words our parents and grandparents were told in the 1970s and 1980s.
The same words were repeated to today’s generation. Note that dreams, aspirations and expectations vary with generations. The country’s generation today is better educated and more exposed to the demands of modern lifestyle and the socio-economic issues that come with it. They are more sensitive and hostile compared to their parents.
With our vast resources, we do have a long promising future. But, like HIV/AIDS, corruption is threatening that promising future.
Corruption is a disease eating our heart out. We do not want it to eat the children of today’s generation alive.
It has turned many potential young people to crime. It is turning many more to violence. Heed Dr Nonggorr’s critical observation seriously. Our short-term development policies for the next three to five years must be targeted at the immediate well-being of today’s generation and that of their children.

Emmanuel Xavier
Kerema