Envoy: Corruption stalls development

 CORRUPTION has been blamed for the country’s failure to achieve some of its goals and for lagging in some development areas despite the growing economy.

These were the views of US Ambassador Walter North and University of Technology Vice Chancellor Dr Albert Schram when addressing staff and students last Thursday at the Taraka campus.

North said US President Barrack Obama had called this century the “Pacific century” with the US building on its strong ties with the region and its commitment to Pacific islanders. “Although the newspapers are full of news of PNG’s strong economic prospects, they tell of other sadder tales – attacks against communities by law enforcement authorities, attacks between and within communities, horrific violence against women and children, seemingly unending corruption and abuses of power, growth which has not been inclusive and high levels of human suffering,” North said.

Schram said: “No matter the good intentions, it remains a fact that PNG is one of the very few countries in the world, which despite strong economic growth of the last decade, has not achieved any of the eight Millennium Development Goals.”

“We agreed that corruption plays an important part in this. As educated and responsible members of society, we must continue to say no to corruption.

“We believe the empowerment of our students as future leaders of society, starts with a solid grasp of the real situation in society, and the development of self-esteem and triple identities as university students, Papua New Guineans and member of their tribes.”