PNG loses at the polls

Editorial, Normal
Source:

The National, Friday 18th November 2011

ELECTION years seem to have a profound effect on enticing some of our brightest and best professionals from the public service.
These men, many of them seasoned veterans and quite a few on the cusp of attaining top management and administrative roles in their careers, choose to enter the electoral fray with idealistic intentions.
One can say with a certain degree of regret that while there have been some success stories from these five-yearly exercises in democracy, the truth is that elections have served to ravage the cream of the civil service more than it has produced triumphs.
In many cases, this is to the detriment of the department or body which the individual has opted to leave.
It deprives the public service of talented and highly skilled individuals and leaders and furthermore leaves a void that often takes years and hundreds of thousands of kina to fill.
The investment in terms of training and development of these individuals seems to be for naught as once the decision is made to resign and contest an election, the results are for the most part irreversible and the
integrity and respected attained over many years irretrievable.
That is why while we applaud Gary Juffa, the now former customs commissioner, who this week publicly announced his resignation to seek a representative role in parliament for Northern, we must also state that it is a sad departure.
Juffa has taken a bold step to abandon a rising career in the public service and his departure will no doubt leave the commission a different animal.
Another individual who left a high-ranking role to chase a seat in parliament next year is former chief ombudsman Ila Geno.
Both men have forged reputations and have the track records to prove this but that is no guarantee they will enter parliament based solely on their
professional accomplishments.
We wish them well, of course, but it is a high-stakes gamble they are entering with their eyes wide
open.
And, if their worst fears were realised and they lost at the polls, we must say it would not only be their personal loss but also a loss for the wider community.
Rarely if ever has a senior bureaucrat or experienced public servant returned to his previous role after a failed attempt at politics.
And, if a return to familiar settings is sought, it is mostly in a reduced or lesser role.
There is no leeway or quarter given to individuals in the genuine pursuit of political and legislative power.
The time and investment in training and skills acquisition becomes a fruitless exercise for departments.
Aspiring to public office is an endeavour fraught with risks in a country where citizens are prone to vote, not necessarily for the best lawmakers or politicians, but for the candidates who are prepared to buy their way into their hearts and minds or along tribal and regional affiliations.
The net result is that men who would have otherwise been a boon and credit to the country in the public service domain are left tainted and in some cases ruined by the vicious process that lends itself to; garnering support, creating alliances, endearing themselves to the voting public and the compromising of values, reputations and integrity which they may have spent years in building.
Some unscrupulous individuals hedge their bets by standing for elections while technically still employed by the government. 
This ensures their continuity in the case of failure.
That said, critics may dismiss the loss of the professional elite to politics as something borne out of a thirst for power and prestige but in many instances a desire to effect positive change from a position of political power is what drives these men.
Some of the most notable individuals who have left stable and successful careers in the public sector are the who’s who of PNG politics such as Sir Michael Somare, a former teacher and journalist, Sir Mekere Morauta, Bart Philemon, Sir Rabbie Namaliu and Sir Puka Temu.  But they are the exception to the rule.
For every successful former government employee who wins a seat in Waigani in this general election, we fear there will be at least two, or maybe three, who will miss out and pay a heavy price.
Collectively, Papua New Guinea will be the poorer for it.