Corruption rife with greed for money, power

IT is indeed a shameful indictment for any country to be labeled as corrupt by the global community.
Despite the wealth from its developed natural resources or future wealth from the still undeveloped natural resources, history has shown that such wealth were never fully translated into commensurable tangible development for its people nor prosperity of a country when corruption is rife and rampant within its regime.
Rampant corruption is part and parcel of despot and tyranny as it only leads to abject poverty and a widening disastrous gap between the haves and the have-nots.
In PNG, politics has become a rather big money spinner for overnight wealth rather than an honourable mandate or vessel for peoples’ and country’s pillar of democracy and prosperity.
One only has to look at the extent to which energy, emotions, tensions, mob mentality and all the techniques under the sun bar the acceptable ones are used by some politicians and their cohorts to get elected into parliament.
Thus for some, the main driving forcebehind the contest for political power seems to be in the order of: Interests of the individual; his family: his clan; and his province.
The country’s interest is the last as had been displayed by certain MPs.
One only has to ponder over the numerous alleged misuses or mysterious disappearances of allocated funds for much needed government services, payment of pensions or retirement benefits for Defence, Police and public servants with no tangible benefits whatsoever to show for the uses of such funds.
Flying in the faces of these is the obvious sudden change to the politician’s economic status through new found wealth which he would obviously fight tooth and nail to hang onto.
However of comfort should be the numerical strength of the masses with moralistic principles, integrity and the power of divine intervention that we can pin our hopes on to turn the tide against this evil destroyer.
BT Laskona, Via email