Peace be to this House

By MARK KARAMBI
A VOTE of No Confidence (VONC) is a provision under Parliamentary democracy in which the people through their elected members of Parliament (MPs) are given an opportunity to assess the performance of the man whom their members of Parliament have voted into office as Prime Minister after a general election.
It’s the time in which members of Parliament indicate their decision on the floor of Parliament about their 18-month appraisal of the man they appointed as the Prime Minister. A vote of confidence or no confidence should in essence reflect or capture the true plight and wellbeing of their people. Members of Parliament are mandated by their people to lead with wisdom and not pride.
Peace Be To This House is this year’s New Year message and it is the very message Christ gave his disciples. The House of which Jesus speaks is every individual leader, family, community, country and continent.
When political life is not seen as a service to society, it becomes a means of oppression, marginalisation and destructive. Political office and responsibility constantly challenge politicians to make every effort to protect and respect life, freedom and dignity of all persons.
The Catholic Reporter published in last week’s Wantok Niuspepa says, politics in PNG has its vices. These vices undermine the authentic democracy, bring disgrace to public life and threaten social harmony. Misappropriation of public resources, the exploitation of individuals, and the denial of rights, the flouting of rules, dishonest gain and refusal to relinquish power are the vices present today.
This year’s New Year greetings ‘Peace be to this House’ is indeed electrifying in that it came at the time when our National Parliament which we call the House is about to deliver its verdict on Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
In a matter of days, to be exact Feb 5, 2019 is when the 18 months grace period ends and Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s fate will be decided by the other 110 MPs. The first Parliament session for 2019 starts next Tuesday, Jan 22 and is expected to run straight into the date when the grace period ends.
The ruling People’s National Congress Party (PNC) is by far the largest political group in Parliament and with its coalition partners comprising of Pangu, United Resources Party, Peoples Progress Party, Social Democratic Party and the People’s Party, it boasts of an amazing strength of over 70 MPs. Such a figure may seem a difficult feat for the Opposition with 23 MPs.
Members of Parliament are mandated to lead with a degree of wisdom in difficult situations such the VONC. They are expected to use their expert knowledge and experience to deal with a difficult question of life and adaptation to a complex issue. The application of their knowledge and experience to improve the well-being of their people defines wisdom as a cardinal virtue. It is not about making a decision to secure personal comfort zones.
Good politics is at the service of peace and it is therefore fitting that our MPs should enter the House on the day of voting with the message Peace be to this House.
Countless tales have been told and circulated in both mainstream and social media about the conduct of this government. Some of those stories speak highly of Prime Minister O’Neill while others smear his name and that of his government. All that is being said, read, aired and televised, can be classified as opinions or if not, half-truths.
This article is not intended to expose the pros and cons of the O’Neill-Abel Government. Certainly all Members of Parliament are fully aware of the issues and should apply wisdom as a cardinal rule to rescue them of any confusion. MPs are duty-bound to be decisive and so they must decide in the solemn interest of their people.
All the 110 MPs may have formed their opinions on Prime Minister Peter O’Neil and they are entitled to their respective views. But their views must have the ingredients of due care and good moral judgment to discern inner qualities and relationships. In a VONC, the MPs must be reminded that they are dealing with a matter relating to life therefore sound judgment is expected.
It is not the commoner who will decide the fate of the Prime Minister but their elected Members of Parliament who are to make that wise decision which the nation eagerly awaits.
Luring and enticing of MPs should be the thing of the past as intellectual capacity seems to have grown in the present term of Parliament. The outcome of the VONC will tell us if the intellectual capacity of MPs in the present Parliament has grown and matured.
Both the Government and Opposition are now steam-rolling their efforts on securing and consolidating their numbers in the coming days leading up to the final countdown.
As usual, the Prime Minister will work on consolidating his current strength to remain in power while the Opposition will have to work hard to effectively capitalise on cracks within government rank and file. The outcome of the VONC will clearly spell out the winner within minutes of the vote being taken on the floor.
Prime Minister O’Neill has the executive power to stretch to his advantage while the Opposition has an enormous task to put together an effective strategy to reduce his numbers and unseat him. While negotiations are on-going, spies on both sides are at the helm to scoop the latest.

With only days to go, the Opposition needs to consolidate itself more meaningfully and a credible nominee to replace Prime Minister O’Neil should surface. Patrick Pruaitch, Sir Mekere Morauta and, Kerenga Kua are resounding Opposition household names. Hard questions, straight and tough talking must be allowed in the Opposition caucus where humbleness must supersede pride.
The hour of VONC in Parliament is a defining moment in Papua New Guinea and it “stops” the nation as the Melbourne Cup in Australia does. It’s a moment of truth where the truth must be laid bare on the floor of the people’s House by their mandated representatives.
Developed democracies in Australia, England and United States have strong and solid government systems in place that regularly scout for ill-conduct. PNG’s democracy is no doubt strong and vibrant but lacks the solid foundation its needs to thrive thus placing the country in a more vulnerable situation in which it can be seen as a ‘failed’ state.
Former Prime Minister and current MP for Moresby North-West Sir Mekere Morauta used the term ‘systematic corruption’ in describing the collapsed state of affairs of State institutions and the public service machinery. Sir Mek, as he is known today, who has his finger prints in stabilising PNG’s political system and a driving force in the nation’s marco-economic policies, is now back at the helm. He returned to politics for a reason.
The MPs are going to entertain the VONC fully aware of the realities confronting their people in cities, towns and the rural communities.
The tumbling Kina against the dominant foreign currencies as result of declining volume of PNG’s oil, gas, gold, copper, silver and agricultural and marine products should be a serious cause for concern by a government after the VONC.
The declining export volume in extractive industries calls for the government to re-emphasise its priority on the agriculture sector. An enthusiastic, charismatic and innovative agriculturalist needs to be immediately confirmed as Secretary for the Department of Agriculture and Livestock. There are too many actors in the public service and none has won a Hollywood award or even going closer to being nominated.
The Public Service Minister’s drive to shrink the wage bill needs to be supported at great length and political commitments must cease. Funding for new infrastructure projects should be strictly scrutinised and channeled under the Public Investment Program (PIP).
There must be a shift in the distribution of Provincial and District Services Improvement Progam (PSIP and DSIP) funds. Proper and stringent tendering and procurement processes must be a prerequisite in the use of these funds for projects. All funds under these two concepts should be held by the relevant State agencies responsible for its implementation and are only released once the tendering and procurement processes are completed.
The District Development Authorities (DDAs) shall continue to meet and pass resolutions on how and where to disburse the funds but the actual release must be strictly subjected to the tendering and procurement processes if public money is to achieve tangible results.
Policing the Police Force is a great initiative by the Police Department but it needs the teeth to bite hard on rogue police officers. This unit of the Police Force and its community policing efforts need a good budget to operate effectively in communities especially the hotspots in major cities and towns.
The continuing decline of cash-flow into the State coffers and soaring prices of basic household necessities cannot be ignored at this time of the VONC.

• Mark Karambi is a journalist-turned political advisor and works at the National Parliament as First Secretary to Hela Governor Philip Undialu.