Parliament sitting disgrace

I WATCHED the last Parliament sitting with disgust.
I believe most Papua New Guineans share the same feeling.
Many of us grew up in villages where we had to brave the freezing highlands temperatures.
We stood semi-naked in traditional attire in the school assembly and sand and singing the national anthem and saying the national pledge.
We were told to serve God and the country before ourselves.
The teachers looked into our eyes to ensure we understood our reverence to God and statehood.
At that time, little did we knew about what was actually happening in Parliament, where all the laws of the country are made and where all the elected leaders of PNG sit to discuss the way forward.
In those days, we believed that Government was next to God and all MPs were very special and powerful people equal to saints.
Whenever these MPs visited the electorate, we would see our teachers getting excited and organising us to clean the place, and decorate the venue with flowers.
We were strictly told to dress in our best to welcome them.
On the day of their arrival, we would sit under the sun or rain, braving these extremities, and listen to marathon speeches that we knew nothing or little of.
One thing we carried home was that the most important person visited us, and being there to welcome him and his delegates was important and gave us a sense of satisfaction. My memory is tormented retrospectively when
I see our Parliament going to waste, with so-called MPs continuously failing to realise their primary reason for being in Parliament.
Our Parliament sessions is completely devoid of what is directly threatening and confronting the sovereignty.
Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears that it’s only in PNG that our MPs expose their dirty underwear in the highest constitutional house (Parliament).
Internal national issues which MPs are supposed to discuss and resolve among themselves, as national leaders, are being debated in Parliament.
The country thinks both the Government and Opposition are working in the best interest of the country.
Again, only in Papua New Guinea, the right and wrong syndrome that infects our education system seems to continuously plague the MPs’ basic psychology.
Parliament must not be a place where MPs questions each other on internal issues which they can resolve outside where they have a lot of time.
It should be a place where issues confronting and threatening the sovereignty must be discussed.
In almost all Parliament sessions, we have MPs throwing mud at each other with trivial matters, which they had all the time to resolve.
During the last session, we had a serious economic crisis which the Government is doing its best to resolve.
The country was expecting constructive economic discussion.
Nothing seemed to make sense as MPs were still talking about trivial domestic issues.
A classic example is one MP asking time-specific question on outstanding Government commitment to teachers’ salary increase promised in 2017.
What was this MP doing all these time when he and Education Minister Nick Kuman are both living in Port Moresby?
He should have simply walked to the education minister’s office and sat with him to find out.
He could then publish his findings in the media or make a press release with the education minister.
The same goes for Nuku MP Joe Sungi, who questioned Police Minister Jelta Wong about why Nuku had only one police officer.
Sungi should go see Police Commissioner Gari Baki to resolve this issue administratively but he failed to do that.
These are just two examples that makes Parliament sittings disgusting to watch.
It also shows how elected leaders raise or lower the standard of national representation.
MPs must prove to regional and global democracies that Papua New Guinea has a bright future.
What they discuss in Parliament speaks volumes.

Samson Wena
Kerowagi
Chimbu