Our mindset holding us back, time to let go

THE difference between the Europeans and us is not the colour of our skin but our attitude and mindset. It has (not nothing but) less to do with education.
The nationalists and patriots of PNG have been continuously decrying the destitute state of PNG in terms of social and economic development amongst others. At the political level, finger pointing and blame shifting for PNG’s deplorable state has become the politics style of the day.
To be honest, generally, all politicians no longer have integrity in the eyes of the people.
The reason for this patriotic hype is not because we are worse of than most African states, it has all been an expression of disappointment, by those who love this country, that PNG was (or is) not making progress as it should, given that PNG has all it needs to prosper.
Very much reasonably, we all expect and want PNG to be the leading country in the South Pacific region because, unparalleled to any other nation in the region, PNG has much natural resources to offer the world, ranging from marine resources to minerals (gold, copper, silver etc…) to petroleum deposits (oil & gas) to timber and many more. In addition, PNG has the potential to be one of the hot tourism destinations in the world.
PNG has it all but why have we stagnated in our progression as a nation? I believe, it is all because of our general attitude and mindset.
If you will notice, our attitude has not improved. Our mindset has not changed. Even the so-called educated elites are no different. This attitude problem affects all of us, from the persons in the top echelons of power to the ordinary tea boy and cleaning lady.
Because all of us have attitude problem, what is supposed to be a worrying trend is fast becoming a norm. For instance, most public servants arrive late to work and knock off early. The above has not been curbed because supervision and discipline is minimal or non-existent.
Europeans appoint persons to important government position based on merits.
In PNG, it has less to do with merit but more to do with wantok system and political alliances.
If this nation is to change, we all must attain a new spirit of discipline and humbleness.
We all have to do what is right and not condone what is (overtly or otherwise) wrong.
I believe, changing this country for the better is not a one-man job, but rather it requires collective effort from all of us.
In order to put PNG back on track, we all need to change our mindset and attitude. Let us stop being arrogant and learn from how the European societies function. How they defendant their rights, how the public servants serve the people and so forth.
We may think we have learnt it all, but our actions tell otherwise. We need to learn from the Whiteman.
PNG is supposed to be the leading nation in the South Pacific. But PNG has not yet attained its rightful place in the world and the region because of this attitude and mindset problem.
If we are serious above making this country great, we all need to change our mindset and attitude.
For those of us who are educated, we need to educate our beloved tribesmen and family members of the above. We still need to learn from the Whiteman!

Emmanuel Isaac
Port Moresby