What goals should we set as a nation?

DEVELOPMENT is one of the most overused English word in this country.
To our people, it can mean a limitless range of targets – spiritual, material and personal development represent only a handful of many goals sought.
What is development?
To a politician representing a remote rural electorate, development could mean better roads, the construction and staffing of clinics and the creation of some agricultural initiatives that could boost both employment and income.
To Allan Bird, the East Sepik governor, it could mean a long list of goals.
The provision of better water and power supplies to residents and the business sector could be one goal, while better road maintenance programmes might also hold a high priority.
To the provincial governors rich in resources, development could mean devising plans to build on the finite resources available so that increased benefits can continue.
And to those within our cities and larger towns, development might mean the growth of manufacturing, the improvement of transport and the creation of many small-scale business enterprises.
Then there are the multiple needs generated by an expanded society.
Most of our urban and semi-urban people live in sub-standard accommodation and in crowded and unhygienic proximity to one another. Issues relating to health are also development concerns – even where they involve the re-establishment of health networks long neglected.
Urban centres will continue to experience population increases as the flood of people from our rural areas continues to create demands that our infrastructure and services simply cannot meet.
All of these categories demand attention and make a legitimate claim on the time, expertise and financial backing of our government.
But there’s one area where we have fallen well behind.
We refer to the moral, ethical and spiritual development of our people.
Turn the pages of the newspapers in any week and we will see account of women raped and killed, of children and toddlers sexually abused and of fathers unable to resist sexual relations with their offsprings.
We have been advocating for stronger sentences for rape and sexual abuse. The judicial punishments has not seen much deterrent to the increased incidents both reported and not reported.
No matter how strong the punishment, rapist will continue to proliferate. The Indian Government last week approved capital punishment for anyone convicted of raping children under the age of 12. Reports say rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India.
That, however, does not solve the failures to address sexual violence against women and children either in India or Papua New Guinea. The only slow but meaningful process of addressing this should be in education – beginning at elementary level right up to the highest level – nurturing respect for our women.
That is the development that is missing and one that has the potential to turn our society around.
Development cannot take place in any community that so signally fails to offer women respect, a role in decision making and recognition of their equality without families and our nation.
Learning must start early in life.
By investing in early learning initiatives, we can ensure a greater degree of success among our citizens.
Making sure that children get a good start in their education goes a long way to increasing their success later in life.