Focus on development, not personal egos

IN national affairs, there can be no James Marape or Peter O’Neill neither Pangu, nor PNC.
I have been noticing that Marape and O’Neill are focused on outsmarting each other by sugarcoating statements to impress the people.
They engage in conversations to score political leverage and debates to assassinate each other’s characters and capitalising on each other’s flaws while forgetting that they once shared a bed.
When PNG demand intelligent analyses on complex but sensitive unresolved national issues, they scramble defensively not so much for reappraisal and correction but to guard their cynical egos and flatteries.
Popular political slogans such as #TakeBackPNG and #WokMasGoYet are nothing but manipulative propaganda to captivate the imagination of our un-informed and illiterate majority.
They offer no political or economic cohesion and clout to address the systematic struggles the country is experiencing.
They never really supported the nation’s aspirations. Both are in pursuit of their hedonism, it seems, and have forgotten the cardinal fact PNG is not theirs to gamble with at wit.
It belongs to the nine million Papua New Guineans.
Unless Marape and O’Neill, in honour of the will of the people respectfully engage in intelligent conversations, debate and critical discussions, PNG’s development solutions will only be wishful thoughts.
I end with a quote by Nelson Mandela: “In human affairs, no single person, organisation or social formation ever has a final or an absolutely correct position. It is through conversation, debate and critical discussion that we approach positions that may provide workable solutions”.

Douglas Patiken Barara