A sheer waste of taxpayers’ money

I READ with interest the arrival of the Falcon, the Government’s executive jet.
Why on earth did the Government decide to buy a plane costing taxpayers K120 million?
That K120 million could have been better utilised for the following:
* Fix the roads in Kabwum or Maramuni so that the people their can bring their produce like coffee to sell; 
* Buy medicines for the people of Menyamya and Angoram, who are affected by cholera and dysentery outbreak; 
* Address lawlessness in Lae and Mt Hagen, which is getting out of hand; 
* Address climate change issues affecting our people in Motlock and Lou Islands; 
* Build classrooms in Konoagil and Obura; 
* Address the smuggling of illicit drugs and weapons across our borders at Wutung and the Torres Strait; 
* Address the influx of mainland Chinese; 
* Increase the salaries of public servants to boost their morale; and 
* The list goes on.
The only reason the plane is bought is to enable the Somare Government to start preparing for the 2012 elections.
Remember, after the 2007 elections, the Kumul was used to ferry MPs to and fro in order to form the Government which is in power today.
All of these are done at the expense of the people of Papua New Guinea who are forced to walk miles to sell a bag of coffee to pay for their child’s school fees or who are dying because there are no drugs to treat them.
While our police are unable to attend to criminal cases because they have no cars or fuel, our leaders are using the Falcon to fly here and there, consuming thousands of litres of fuel.
Will the Falcon be used to ferry thousands of islanders whose islands are affected by rising sea to safety?
In a nutshell, K120 million has been wasted with no significant return to the people of Papua New Guinea. 
In the end, Papua New Guineans, who gave the mandate to these leaders, are losers in our own land.

 
Kembo’nga Kawat
Port Moresby