It’s important we get ourselves right

Letters, Normal

ONE of the fundamental questions posed by citizens during this year’s independence celebration is how will PNG move forward in the next 35 years.
Work on the LNG project has started and its benefits can only be measured in terms of economic development and growth.
Whilst we anticipate the effects of LNG and other resources, we must also be mindful of how to utilise these resources for the future generations.
These resources are our children’s resources and we are mere custodians of them.
The decisions we make today will affect them in the future.
Some of us are only living for the spur of the moment but it is better to look at the bigger picture.
Where will PNG be 30 years from now?
With corruption rampant across all government departments and agencies with millions of kina being siphoned, I am doubtful PNG this will be a successful voyage.
Unless we make wholesale changes for the better, our children and their children will not have a better tomorrow.
The much anticipated resources inflow from LNG and other resources activities must be managed and governed properly.
We need a realistic plan that is home grown with the emphasis on good governance and prudent management that also embraces and protects our environment and cultural heritage.
It is possible we may extract all our mineral resources 30 years from now.
But we cannot afford to lose is our identity as the country with the most diverse cultural heritage blessed with rich flora and fauna and geographical landscapes.
Our cultures and environment is worth more than the LNG and all our natural resources combined.
We must plan for our future by learning from our past experience and also from the rest of the world so we do not repeat these mistakes.
We can learn from the success stories of successful energy producing countries like United Arab Emirates and others.
They can become our yardsticks as we ponder our development aspirations.
Instead of relying on impractical development plans and visions that have never been fully realised in this country, we must dwell on policies and plans that best suit us and our people.
We must have simple plans and visions that expound the integrated and sustainable agricultural projects and activities as agriculture is the backbone of our rural people.
They must also include plans to build quality infrastructures like roads, railway, telecommunication, sustainable hydropower, etc.
Our forefathers led a simple way of life interacting with the environment and providing for all their basic necessities for hundreds of years without any of the social problems we see today in many of our communities and societies.
There was peace and order and respect for the elders and care for everyone in need throughout the community.
The spirit of sharing and caring was their way of life.
It was a simple and unselfish lifestyle.
Now selfishness and greed prevail amongst the new generation.
We scramble and fight like hungry animals scavenging over death carcasses.
What we fail to realise is that there is a lot more out there, more than enough to support everyone.
Greed has blinded us and many do not realise that we may not live to fully enjoy everything we amass.
Therefore, it is noble to accumulate and built wealth if you share it among relatives, friends and our nation.

 

Kole Cops
Port Moresby