Corruption standing in the way of development

Letters

OVER the last 18 months leading up to the elections, I have tuned in to the happenings in the nation, reading the papers and blogs in social media about what is happening to our country.
I am not an economist, neither am I a political analyst or investigative journalist, hence I do not have the credentials to substantiate the allegations and happenings I read and hear, about PNG leaders and their leadership capabilities.
I cannot say this person is right and this leader should be punished because the reality of the matter is that, I do not know the whole truth.
PNG does not know the truth about what is happening.
We only know what we see, read and hear and even some of these things may not be entirely true!
And the sad thing about this is, (mind you this is purely a statement in my opinion and NOT based on any researched factual statistics) the educated elite of the country, the
crème de la crème if you will, probably only constitutes between 10-15 per cent of the entire population of PNG and can follow what is happening in our country while the remaining 85-90 per cent are not even aware of the happenings!
What I do know and that I am experiencing is that I’m feeling the pinch of the decisions made at the top.
K50 cannot buy a lot to feed a family for more than two days as how it was 15-20 years ago.
And let’s face it, almost every indigenous family in PNG have extended family relations living with them.
I am of the voting age but I have decided not to vote because I feel that my vote will not make a difference.
How helpless and hopeless does that sound PNG?
My vote should count … but it will not matter if corruption is rife at all levels of the country’s management be it the top, middle and/or bottom.

Nida
POM