Premature move to change govt

TODAY is D-Day but let it not be a “Do Day”. It most assuredly should be a “Don’t Day”. That is if we are talking about changing the government of the day.
Today should not be the day for the people of Papua New Guinea to judge the performance of their Prime Minister, Peter Paire O’Neill, and his Government.
The opportune time for any change of government, if that is at all required, is June 2017.
If O’Neill has been a bad prime minister, the people will surely judge him at the constitutionally appointed time next year during the general election.
Today, despite all the hype from all interested parties about the need for change, any change of government will not produce any tangible benefits for the people because all efforts over the next 11 months will be concentrated on electioneering.
For how long have our politicians, apart from those in the Opposition, been aware of the need for a change?
Why did they not move earlier to change the Government so that the people can at least be able to see the fruits of any changes in policies and programmes?
At least with the current government we have standing policies and programmes that are working. We can quantify those changes and see government policy in action around the country.
In the education sector, in the health sector, in the infrastructure sector, in the agriculture sector and throughout every district in the country we can see changes like never before.
East and West New Britain are finally connected by road for the first time since Independence.
Gulf and the Southern Highlands are almost connected via the Agiru Highway.
The Highlands Highway is being sealed from Mendi to Lake Kopiago and a highway connects Nogoli conditioning plant site of the PNG LNG to Komo international airport and onward to Tari.
Major hospital redevelopment and new ones are being constructed at Mt Hagen, Mendi, Tari, Wabag, Kundiawa, Angau, Kerema and at Nonga.
International flights can now be made out of Mt Hagen, Tokua, Gurney, Komo, and Nadzab.
Major industrial hubs are located at Lae Tidal Basin, in Madang, and at Motukea and Konebada outside Port Moresby.
Sea ports at Alotau, Oro Bay, Kieta,Buka, Kimbe and Wewak have been upgraded in addition to Lae and Port Moresby ports.
The majestic Sepik plains have been there since time immemorial but only under this Governmenthave we seen its agricultural potential leap from talk to reality.
Despite glitches, real free universal education is being delivered right across the country.
Yes, there are pressing issues about rampant corruption, about runaway budget deficits and heavy government borrowing, about delivery of services being a tad slower than it actually should, but very real progress is being made right around the country.
In the last five years despite global economic downturns, the PNG economy has been growing and the GDP (gross domestic product) has doubled in that time.
Instead of building on our strengths, instead of ironing out the rough edges, instead of talking ourselves up for once in our lives, why do we need to reconfigure everything and go back to the drawing board.
We will most certainly stunt every positive development in progress and set ourselves back many years if a motion of no confidence is successful today.
Let us take stock and declare that if this Government requires changing, let us do it in the general election next year.
As People’s Progress Party leader Ben Micah has repeatedly said, we need security and stability in government to deliver on our noble vision and mission statements.
In the rush to change government in August 2011 all sense of decency and respect were trundled aside and a very sick father of the nation was declared a “stranger” in the very Parliament he caused to rise up out of Waigani.
Today the same politicians are siding with Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare and calling their former champion Peter O’Neill all manner of names merely because it is politically convenient to do so.
If the people were to judge D-Day today, our guess is that it would be a Don’t Day.