Fighting corruption ongoing problem

CORRUPTION weighs heavily on governments that have lost their willpower to decisively put an end to it.
Corruption in all forms grows and infiltrates government institutions and civil society.
It begins when the moral weaklings get lured by small-to-lucrative monetary and material gains and rewards.
Over time, these individuals get trapped and lose the purity of their character and esteemed values.
Corruption and fraud are money and wealth crimes.
The practice is about theft of money and material wealth through every conceivable dubious way. The minds of educated mankind are subtly swayed by Satan, into his ways of deception, trickery and false happiness.
Corruption is here to stay. Why? Of course there is no zero tolerance on corruption and fraud.
There are no blaring warnings and ultimatums.
There are no punitive measures aimed at decapitating the hydra of corruption.
We just do not have strong leaders who are serious about disabling and ending corruption.
The ruling government has a choice to either fight or not fight corruption tooth and nail.
Political correctness and self-contradicting arguments should not be allowed to ensnare our thinking, even when our Corruption Perception Index rating is at 134 out of 184 countries assessed.
The secretive non-taxable remuneration paid to Members of Parliament is a classic case of a politically correct noncompliance immunity against the country’s tax laws.
Failures by most Members of Parliament in the timely acquittal of their SIP funds is another issue of concern to the Finance Department.
Finance Minister James Marape came out with a stern warning on those MPs who delayed the submission of their SIP funds acquittals to do so by March 2018, or face the consequences.
The Sir Anthony Siaguru Walk Against Corruption keeps reminding the Government of this crippling issue.
The heads of two civil society organisations – TIPNG and INA – continue to stress the need for transparency and accountability in public finance management.
Let’s hope that corruption and fraud dissipate with natural attrition and the new generation of Papua New Guineans take a breath of fresh air in the public service and other spheres of human activity.
The Apec community knows our placing on CPI and might be hoping that the PNG Government seeks their help to uproot the culture of corruption and fraudulent practices once and for all, and their willingness to invest here guaranteed a hundred per cent.

MM Ondassa
Taurama, NCD