Let’s fight corruption at every level

CORRUPTION is becoming almost an overused vocabulary as the country progresses in its 44 years of independence.
In general, corruption is a form of dishonesty or criminal activity undertaken by a person or organisation entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire illicit benefit.
Two years ago, Justice Oagile Betheul Dingake told a law and order summit in Lae that one of the biggest crimes committed in almost every country is corruption, which is eating into the fabric of our society.
Justice Dingake from Botswana, in South Africa then spoke on his country’s approach to fighting crime.
He said crime affects everyone.
Crime and prosperity do not go together and stakeholders involved in fighting crime should reduce it.
Interestingly, he pointed out that people could pass laws to reduce crimes ‘but if you do not educate people to depart from crime and corruption, you will not succeed.’
And that is exactly the problem we have in this country.
Laws after laws, amendments after amendments, but the policing or enforcing is lacking.
The fight against corruption is not one that should be left to politicians alone.
It is a fact that the nature of our society has contributed in no small way to the current state of affairs.
We live in a society where political leadership is seen as an opportunity to accumulate wealth.
With such a mindset, it will be difficult to stop corruption without a collective effort.
PNG needs to have committees such as anti-corruption clubs set up to fight corruption at every ministry at all levels of the government and its sectors.
That is what the good judge (Justice Dingake) had emphasised on which is, more focus is needed here in PNG to fight corruption so that it is reduced.
While the Government and various stakeholders are taking steps to check unacceptable practices, we are of the opinion that the fight against corruption can be won if we shed ourselves of vices such as heads of schools charging unapproved fees and hospital officials demanding money before attending to patients, even in emergency situations.
Corruption deprives the nation of the resources that could otherwise be used for the general benefit of the larger population and has the tendency to discourage businesses, both local and foreign.
It is, therefore, vital that every step is taken to ensure that this plague is uprooted.
Corruption and incompetence are eating away at society like termites and unless we do away with them, progress and prosperity will remain next to impossible.
Rampant corruption is part and parcel of despot and tyranny as it only leads to abject poverty and a widening disastrous gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Corruption, can be seen as a cancer that eats at every fabric of the society and comes in countless stages from low-level petty to high-level.
One only has to ponder over the numerous alleged misuses or mysterious disappearances of allocated funds for much needed government services, payment of pensions or retirement benefits for defence, police and public servants with no tangible benefits or whatsoever to show for the uses of such funds.
We should all join the campaign to stem corruption.