A good time to take stock

EASTER

By HENZY YAKHAM
EASTER is here again with many Papua New Guineans joining multitudes of Christians world-wide in celebrating the greatest sacrifice ever made to save mankind.
The excruciating death (on a wooden cross) and the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago is marked with worship, celebration and a host of other activities to mark this important event in the Christian calendar.
The Easter story is too familiar and one that has been told and re-told many times.
What can we learn from the suffering, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
From a Christian stand point, there are some important messages.
We learn from Christ laying down, forgoing and temporarily surrendering His Godly powers and the glorious divine being in order to save the world. Ultimately Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s will and Bible prophesies.
Christ’s divine sacrifice was above self and greed to fulfill His mission on earth, delivering mankind from sin, suffering and bondage. His ministry on earth centred around three main areas; spreading and educating the masses on God’s Word, healing the sick, raising the dead as well as promoting Godly values and virtues.

What is the message
What is the message for Papua New Guinea today as a professed Christian nation this Easter?
On March 30, 2010, 14 years ago this is exactly what a journalist asked the then Opposition Leader, the late Sir Mekere Morauta.
The event was a Parliament House cheque presentation totalling over K49,000 to four church groups and one to complete a community water supply project in the Moresby North-West electorate.
The question asked 14 years ago and the subsequent response by the late Sir Mekere are still very much relevant today. In reply to the question, Sir Mekere said: “Easter gives us the opportunity to take stock of where we are and where we are going”.
It is for all citizens and our leaders to take stock of the fast-evolving socio-economic events taking place and as well as pressing issues confronting the nation.
Sir Mekere predicted the changes resulting from the development brought about by extractive industries such as the multi-billion kina liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, mineral and hydro carbon projects.
He noted some changes brought about by internal events such as PNG’s population growth and government policies, while others occur due to events caused by external forces.
“I’m afraid the leaders are not taking sufficient time to understand fully these changes in managing the nation’s affairs. We have a duty to fully understand the changes to adopt some, adapt some and reject some,” he stressed.
Sir Mekere’s second message was for the Government to fully acknowledge, recognise and support the work Christian churches in the country.
“It is an opportune time to remember that churches have important roles to play.
“Government and churches must be working together to deal with the increasing socio-economic challenges,” he said.

Politics and pulpits
Reference was also made to what many believe that politics and pulpits should not be compromised, but operate separately. Going behind the apparent separation, both the Government and the Church exist to serve the same individuals and groups of people.
Churches continue to provide spiritual welfare while the Government concentrate in providing material welfare. Many prefer them to operate separately, but both are working to improve the same individual.
We recognise the immense commitments of the Christian churches in providing much-needed health, education and infrastructure service.
This is particularly so in some of the remotest rural and outback regions of PNG where there is no government presence.
No government effort will ever equate/equal the dedicated sacrifices of missionaries, evangelists and many other church workers to care and provide for the needy, poor and under privileged.
PNG is currently experiencing immense pressure with constant demands for essential and very basic health, education, infrastructure and public services.
As you are reading this, there are multitudes of individuals, families and communities that are caught in the mire of poverty.
The capital Port Moresby, Lae, the second largest city and industrial hub of PNG and other urban centers are littered by citizens who are literally living by the day – poverty stricken and desperately striving to make ends meet.
What has happened to the wealth earned from PNG’s vast natural resources? Many of its citizens live below the United Nations poverty index level.
Where are the billions of kina earned from extractive industries, oil, gas and minerals, forestry, fisheries and agricultural commodities?
The billions of kina earned from these industries are supposed to transform PNG’s economy and the livelihoods of its citizens.
Generally, the country situation is completely the opposite with PNG increasingly becoming a begging nation, both in a literal and figurative sense.
Paradox
PNG is truly a sad paradox – so rich yet so poor.
This resource-rich nation is plagued with rampant corruption and serious problems including:

• Perceived immunity from prosecution of so-called leaders occupying both elective and non-elective offices;
• Individuals and entities (State and private) hijacking processes and dictating terms and situations to suit their own ends;
• Politicians and the State not honouring undertakings/promises and/or adhering to contractual obligations and memoranda of agreement/understanding (MOA/MOU);
• Blatant failure to implement finding and recommendations of State-sanctioned inquiries and reports;
• Fuel crisis and chronic electricity and water supply woes in major urban centers PNG-wide;
• Constant complains of shortage of foreign exchange affecting business;
• High inflation with ever-increasing cost of goods and services;
• Government’s constant delays in paying private service providers; and failure to pay grants destined for provinces to fund projects and services.

As well, the PNG country situation is further compounded by the dilapidated state of public hospitals, health centers and aid posts being run down/closed with little/no medicine resulting in people dying daily of a combination of starvation and curable diseases.
HIV/Aids ravages PNG at an unprecedented level with estimates of up to over 100,000 people living with the dreaded killer disease. Tuberculosis (TB) claims up to 3,000 lives in PNG every year and continues to spread at a greater speed than ever before.
The health challenges of PNG are further exacerbated by unhealthy and uncontrolled habits of public smoking, bad betel nut chewing habits, alcohol abuse and alarming use/abuse of marijuana and other illicit substance.
Despite the over-orchestrated myth of free education, there are still thousands of school-aged children, who for one reason or another are not attending classes or receiving any formal classroom situation lessons. This will compound PNG’s illiteracy rate, of which there are no official figures.
Coupled with these socio-economic inequities and imbalances is the deteriorating state of the nation’s road, transport, telecommunication and other public infrastructure.
Most of PNG’s road conditions are in appalling state due to lack of maintenance. This has been manifested in recent times with landslides destroying vital road infrastructure cost the tax-payers millions of kina.
PNG’s telecommunication system is a sad tale – it is outdated and very expensive.
PNG is yet to see considerable progress and results in curtailing crime, corruption and fraudulent practices.
The open defiance of the rule of law PNG-wide and the level of both common street crimes and planned white collar crimes must serve as serious warnings that PNG is facing serious law and order problems.
Ordinary people are breaking the laws because many say the leaders including lawmakers (MPs) are not leading by example.
State law enforcing agencies simply need to do their day jobs.
PNG’s major problem is lack of proper enforcement of the laws – not lack of laws.

Christ-centred hope
These issues and concerns are highlighted in the hope that during this Easter, all our law makers in PNG’s three-tier government system will pause to ponder seriously about the message behind the death of Jesus Christ.
Christ, the son of God had a principle purpose on earth – to serve, die and rise for the poor, sick and the under privileged as well as the rich and well-to-do.
The challenge for PNG as a Christian nation, especially the professed Christian leaders, is to emulate the greatest teacher who walked on Planet Earth.
Christian leadership calls for self-discipline with a high moral compass and ethical values.
It means putting the interest of PNG and its people ahead of personal, party, parochial and political interests.
During these difficult times, leaders, especially MPs are called by their names and numbers.
They must rise and lead to make definite, drastic and determined changes starting from the top down. In the coming local level government, PNG voters must seek God’s guidance to vote for honest, transparent and accountable individuals (men and women).
We must be constantly reminded of the Easter story – He was God, yet Jesus Christ came down to earth and demonstrated his love for His people by sacrificing His life for people He loved.
It is the truest case of “the greater the love the greater the suffering”.

• Henzy Yakham is a freelance writer. Story ideas can be forwarded to 72159301.