Legal eagles marching on for rule of law

WHEN everything seems to fall apart, the peaceful march organised by the Law Society of PNG has resounded well among the dark corridors of Waigani.
A wake-up call.
This march came at a critical juncture of our country’s decline in the rule of law.
The highest possible standard demanded from our political and administrative leaders to uphold the rule of law in discharging their duties has eroded as compared to past leaders in the ’70s and ’80s.
Compliance to process in procurement, payments and awarding of contracts are no longer relevant by today’s so-called administrators and leaders.
Our institutions such as the Ombudsman Commission, Electoral Commission, and Auditor General seem too complacent.
Besides there are many provincial governments that should have been suspended, especially in the Highlands, by the Auditor-General’s Office. However, this has never happened.
Laws, rules and processes are there for fairness, justice and equality for all.
Conveniently, changing the laws to suit parochial interest undermines the rule of law and promotes greed and selfish interests.
Good governance comes with leaders of sound characters and integrity. In order to achieve that, bio-metric voting must be introduced as the mode of voting by 2027.
This is a major shift that will bring about decent and credible leaders.
Such leaders will uphold the rule of law without fear or favor.
The PNG Law Society’s call is also the call of many illiterate and disadvantage people of this country.
We give credit to the president and all our good decent lawyers who took part in this march for the rule of law, and not the rule of money.

Eagle Eye
Goroka