35 years of decline, says Marat

PAPUA New Guinea began its independence journey on a high note 35 years ago but experienced a decline in its political, economic and social indicators as the years went by, former attorney-general and Rabaul MP Dr Allan Marat said in Rabaul last Thursday.
He said PNG was struggling to achieve a higher quality of life for its citizens.
“PNG started its journey 35 years ago on a high note simply because of what the Australians had established during the colonial period and a few good hearts in the then political leadership of PNG,” Marat said.
He said while it was true that the country had made some gains in achieving a high standard of living, for the last 30 years, “it was like one step forward and three steps backward”.
“There was good progress in some areas but a lot more was needed in the greater part of PNG’s political, economic and social development.
“We can easily put this down to the different leaderships PNG has had and continues to have in public
institutions scheming to steal from the public purse, scheming to avoid transparent administrative and legal accountability and continuously ruling in spite of sufficiently audible opposition from the public.”
Marat said the national government was struggling because its focus was not on the citizens and the future generations.
He said Sept 16 was a time to lament and learn from the failures of past governments and move forward.