Corruption taking a toll on PNG

THE recent 2020 supplementary budget speech by the Treasury Minister Ian L Stucky (The National, Sept 11) revealed that the Government had inherited an existing hyper-debt level at 39 per cent debt to gross domestic product (GDP) when they took office last year.
Prime Minister James Marape reiterated that using print and social media that his government had no option but to clean up the mess created by former prime minister Peter O’Neill.
There was specific reference made to the Works Department that had an accumulated unsettled contract value of K4 billion, where the Government had settled K300 million in 2019.
In a layman’s view, the billions of outstanding Works contracts clearly demonstrates the work of few corrupt politicians and departmental heads or procuring agencies that have been abusing the goods and services procurement process that is awarded through what is known as a ‘’no bid contract’’, or the non-competitive bidding process, leading to the extravagant exploitation of public funds through corruption over the years.
These and many other examples are clear indications of corruption.
Fraudulent deals as such this transmit a warning signal that our country’s government system is so infested with fraud, deceit and corruption and abuse of power.
Corruption has reached an unacceptable level.
It devours resources that could be devoted to the citizens.
It impedes the proper carrying out of economic rules and unnecessarily penalises the honest and capable.
If we continue to elect the same corrupt politicians every time, that’s a very clear message that we don’t want change.

Kantri Bagarap