One greater plan for development

A SURVEY by the Department of Implantation and Rural Development, the Economic and Fiscal Commission, the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, the Auditor-General, the Department of Finance (internal audit and compliance division) and all provincial audit committee secretariats as well as other stakeholders should devise a general development plan for all 89 districts and 22 provinces to implement and adhere to.
This will also make it possible for the reporting of feedback and the monitoring and review of projects.
Any province or district which deviates away from the development template and does things on their own must be penalised (withhold project funds) and an explanation be given.
How can you expect development to take place when politicians are calling the shots?
This ranges from public servants’ recruitment, funding, decision making and everything else.
To make matters worse, I heard the there is a popular Finance Form 11 ( FF11), if I am not wrong, to be signed by the MPs at districts treasuries.
Can departments of Finance and Treasury explain for the benefit of Papua New Guinea the nature, purpose and intent of such a required form giving ultimate authority to MPs.
Is it under the DDA Act or Public Finance Management Act 1995?
The way forward for Papua New Guinea to realise and achieve certain global (UN) development objective targets and as well as local (Vision 2050), we have to overhaul our entire government system to suit our Melanesian culture, environment and way of life.
Create a Government development forum of think- tanks by choosing practically oriented and adequately educated people who are humbly and honestly toiling for survival out in the countryside.
I assure you that, you will have the best data and information required to improve service delivery in the country from this people.
PNG is almost 50 years old, we have a big enough pool of highly educated manpower floating the streets across the provinces in search of better opportunities.
The new Government formed after next year’s General Election should list public servants who are near retirement age.
This will allow new university and college graduates occupy these positions on merit (aging and redundancy at the public service machinery is a major stumbling block to development).
Create a volunteer scheme for graduates in various disciplines in the provinces and districts.
You can pick the best for the positions later and evaluate their performances in comparison to current status quo.
These changes not only require implementation at the public service level, but also at the political level.
For instance, even if it means to amend the Organic Law on Electoral Commission and Elections to preselect certain qualifying criteria’s for intending candidates to meet before they stand for public office, let it be for better governance purposes.
The fundamental or underlying criteria is that the intending candidate must have completed grade 12, let alone other credential details.
This effectively allows the system itself to preselect the intending candidates, before the voting process would be affected just as a mere formality because, at the end of the day, the best educated leader has been selected.
On the contrary, given the current scenario, as you all know, the opposite happens.
How can you advocate for development, economic activities, infrastructures, law and order, when the conceptual mindset from an educated perspective is absent?
I challenge current leaders that if you can’t advocate for and change this simple electoral legislation, please don’t shout and try to make sense out of your points of order in the House.
To summarise, PNG requires a guided democracy and not open ended democracy like the one we have now.
If any of you agree with my views and are privileged to be in the House, take this message seriously and start formulating draft legislations regarding these Organic Law changes under subsection, “Integrity of intending candidates” for all levels of elections in PNG, raise it on the floor of Parliament as Private Members Bill to pass with absolute majority into law.

Concerned Remote
Rural Resident