Reward should not be motivating factor to report corruption

By BRADLEY MARIORI
THE Government’s plan to reward whistleblowers who reported corruption is a way of motivating people to report corruption but has its drawbacks, a church head says.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG (ELCPNG) Head Bishop, Rev Dr Jack Urame, said fighting corruption was everyone’s responsibility.
“For me, reward should not be a motivational factor to report corruption,” Urame said.
“We should do it for our country. As citizens, it is our duty to our country. To build a nation is a collective responsibility and we have to report what is wrong for our country.
“It’s good to reward whistleblowers but that should not be the motivation for us to blow the whistle.”
Urame said PNG citizens needed to blow the whistle because of their love for the country and not for the love of money.
He said everyone had equal responsibilities and needed to have some sense of responsibility for one another.
“Corruption should not have a place in our society. It’s stopping us from moving forward,” Urame said.
“Everyone should be a whistleblower to report corruption if anyone is making attempts to destabilise the country through corruption. Yes, whistleblowers should be protected.”