Lack of goodwill a challenge

ONE of the biggest problems facing Papua New Guinea society today is the lack of goodwill which is shown when people interact with each other.
It may not be overt and strikingly obvious, but the small things, just as much as the bigger actions, explains a lot about how people think and the logic that they use to justify what they do.
Earlier this month, Eda Ranu workers raised their concerns with the proposed amalgamation with Water PNG.
The apparent shedding of a portion of the workforce and other matters related to the amalgamation of the two State-owned institutions compelled the workers to speak out.
But as in all negotiations to do with workplace conditions and staffing, they must be in line with the overall plan to take the entities forward and this almost
always entails some hard decisions.
That is a fact of corporate culture and one must remember that these State-owned enterprises are no longer completely in the public service but are ostensibly operating as private companies with a business model that requires them to be more accountable to shareholders and to be competitive in the open market.
So there will be casualties.
That is a given.
But rather than look at it from the point of view that these are practical decisions that are being made in order to safeguard the company, some individuals feel the need to react to their impending redundancies or demotions by hurting the entity they think has wronged them.
The deliberate shutting down of water supply to the city by what many suspect are unhappy workers is not only counter-productive to their cause but holds to ransom the majority of the population who rely heavily on these services.
Those who are caught vandalising and/or damaging the property of any service providers must face the full force of the law.
Their crimes are not only against any Government entity – be it water, power and communication – but are against the public in general.
Last week, a district court magistrate in Goroka said communication facilities must be respected because they provide vital services.
A suspect appeared in his court charged for allegedly damaging, removing and tampering with communication facilities.
What the perpetrators of these crimes do not fully understand is that they are affecting much more than just the State or the boards with whom they have an issue.
If a life or lives are lost because in one way of another the lack of any of these services prevented help from reaching those in need or from life-saving treatment or in some way delayed treatment then those people have blood on their hands and thus must be punished accordingly.
This is not just a simple matter of vandalism, wilful property damage, theft or grand theft, because its ramifications go beyond those crimes.
The cost to the majority cannot be trivialised.
Millions of kina and productivity are wasted whenever the aforementioned services are affected and at the end of the day is a disservice to and a crime against the majority.