The toxic vices of PNG politics

OFTEN, we see governments dragged down and their prime ministers become the sacrificial lamp seemingly for corruption and those burgeoning woes – poor service delivery, instability, deplorable economic conditions and etcetera – but we don’t look beyond what causes all that to happen.
Some of these leaders were once very good people – morally upright, decent and honest – and some even had far exemplary qualities – in leading business, public service and church – prior to stepping into politics, and with of course the passion to make a difference.
I see our leaders as products of a corrupt political system.
Like they say, “don’t expect a cherry tree from an acorn”, vis-à-vis our leaders are as good as the political system.
It is the system of government we have adopted that has failed us big time.
This, of course, is not to excuse us for some of our own shortcomings, incompetency, short-sighted leadership and bad economic management.
But the system had natured a political culture that essentially writes the code, sets the tone and pace and influence the kind of leaders we get at the end of the process.
It began when we allowed democratic principles be implemented through undemocratic procedures; undemocratic principles implemented through democratic procedures; and variations of the same kind.
For example, the national elections – a democratic process – have always been compromised – one way or the other – from election rigging and bribery to controlling of counting officials, security and declarations.
And it is the same in government formation.
Lobbying involves wheeling and dealing and some of these deals are as crooked as it gets on who gets what ministry portfolios, top jobs in the public service, SOEs and statutory bodies, state contracts, projects and etc.
In the last six months, there has been intense lobbying within factions in the Government and parties strongly knocking on the door like the National Alliance and United Resource Party.
So many things went on under table and what we see today, including those shadowy characters lurking on Waigani’s corridors, is the reflection of all those wheeling and dealing.
It is no surprise Prime Minister James Marape had to choose politics over good performance and sound judgment in his recent Cabinet reshuffle because he had to barter a better deal to stay in power.
Choosing good judgment and honesty would have been a political suicide.
Marape admitted feeling the pain of sacking hardworking ministers in the Cabinet all because politics is a startling revelation of what things to come.
It’s so clear now that the pressures are real and are exerted strongly within his multi-coalition Government and consequently pushed the PM to crack in between the rock and a hard place.
And sadly, that is a very bad precedent for a start as we begin the 10-year journey to make Papua New Guinea a Rich Black Christian Nation, leaving no child behind.
It now begins to shake the confidence of the children who don’t want to be left behind.
And that relates very well with Lord Acton’s famous saying: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority.”

David Lepi,
NCD