East Sepik has lost its pre-independence glory

 AS  a son  of  East  Sepik,  I observe with frustration and concern the level of development taking place in my home province. 

From   being  regarded  as  among  the best prior to independence, East Sepik has over the past 38 years regressed  to total stagnation. 

The   standard  of  education  here   has dropped to its lowest.

The province used to boast a high intake in tertiary institutions but now languishes at the bottom of the heap with just a handful making the cut. 

Roads and bridge, health services from the Wewak General Hospital to health  centres and aid posts have all collapsed while economic and wealth creation opportunities are minimal even though our political leaders have been in the forefront of the  nation’s  progress before and since independence, including holding the prime minister’s position as well as senior ministerial portfolios. 

Our bright crop from high school eras of the past have held top jobs in both the public and private sectors, but all these have come to naught. 

How sad indeed that the general populace of the province have not progressed since the days of the Australian kiaps and missionaries. 

It  is  a  common view, and root cause of resentment, that the province’s  leadership   continues  to  be egocentric and self-centred. 

Parochialism and nepotism are at play in the awarding of small to large contracts for which upfront payments are made, but jobs are incomplete or of sub-standard quality. 

For example, millions of kina have been  paid to upgrade our roads over the years from the Sepik Highway Trust Account, but there is no evidence of any work being undertaken because our road conditions have remained poor and impassable. 

Most of the state land and large business opportunities in Wewak are taken up by well-connected people and their business associates. 

The selection and appointment of political and bureaucratic heads have been done to facilitate self-interests. 

It is high time this mentality changes and we take the interest of the people to heart. 

The immediate way to start is by appointing  a competent and energetic  person  with no political connections for the provincial administrator position, which is now vacant. 

We  definitely  do  not  need recycled public servants whose use-by date has long come and gone. 

The kind of person the province requires  should  be  able  to see through all political gamesmanship and make decisions independent of influences other than those of the interest of the people and the province. 

It  is  my  view, and  that  of  many others  in  the  province, that none of the current so-called senior people in the provincial administration qualify to hold  that posdition office t. 

We need someone of upright stature, one who is fresh, vibrant and one who can make decisions without fear or favour so that all Sepiks benefit instead of just a selected few. 

The  O’Neill  government would do well to take heed of the Sepik people’s plight and start making some radical decisions  in steering the province in the right direction. 

The victories of non-Pangu and non-Alliance candidates at recent elections, including victories by the People’s National Congress,  are clear indications of the dissent and resentment  of  the  way the province has  been  led  and  managed since independence. 

I believe that it is God-sent that the province now sees the emergence of young, vibrant leaders such as Richard Maru, who  are  determined to harness and develop East Sepik’s resources and potential to bring it to a higher  pedestal  so  that it  is  a  province I can be proud to be part of. 

Tuohahu Romanarle

Yangoru