Knight warns of evil forces at play

By ELLEN TIAMU
ONLY strong political will will see tougher measures taken against corruption, a former head of the Internal Revenue Commission and businessman, Sir Nagora Bogan says.
Commenting on a report last week on billions of kina in state funds going missing, Sir Nagora said corruption had become like a gilt-edged knife that was cutting through the core of society and becoming more prevalent in all facets of life.
Speaking at the PNG Party fundraising dinner at the Lae International Hotel on Saturday, Sir Nagora said the setting up of the Task Force Sweep team by the government was a step towards eradicating the evil but an independent team should be put together to carry out on-going and thorough investigations.
He said Hong Kong and the Australian state of New South Wales had successful anti-corruption entities that Papua New Guinea could borrow from.
He said the fight against corruption was promising but must continue beyond the national elections and beyond the political life of current politicians.
He said systems were as good as people who operated them and attributed some of the blame on public servants who “have no sense of conflict of interest and award themselves, families or friends contracts for certain projects”.
Sir Nagora said the legacy left behind by leaders was what was important and governments “have a responsibility to do what is right”.