Time for a new breed of leaders

 PAPUA New Guineans are prepared to move forward in all aspects of national development but it seems the political leadership wants to remain taciturn and stick to the old game. 

What was thought to be the old political way of rewarding loyalists and penalising opponents is still very much alive if comments in the media by disgruntled MPs are anything to go by.

From recent media reports Bulolo and Rabaul districts have openly voiced their disappointment and anger over the delayed release or withholding of the much publicised District Services Improvement Programme (DSIP) funds.

We hope the explanations offered by the relevant government authorities, including Finance Minister James Marape, are the entire truth – that payments are done as and when cash becomes available.

Is it a coincidence that the electorates represented by Opposition MPs, who are the strongest critics of the O’Neill Government, have had their DSIP payments withheld?  

The Bulolo district managed to get only a small part of its mandatory allocations, while Rabaul has taken its case to court to make Wai­gani pay the remainder of its dues.

Outspoken Northern Governor Gary Juffa commented on social media this week about the unfair treatment given to his province in the 2014 national budget.

Juffa said his people were being punished for his public statements on important and sensitive national issues. “For my efforts, I have been penalised by a very unfriendly budget for my province, receiving less than last year’s allocation and losing funding for major infrastructure projects.

“In fact I had been warned by a particular minister – yet I never dreamt that a people would be punished for their leader’s efforts to raise concerns about national issues.

“That fact was realised, when scouring the books of the 2014 budget, not a single major project submitted by my provincial government had been funded although all the meetings had been attended and all the appropriate processes and procedures of costing and justification diligently followed.” Juffa was equally critical of some of his other colleague MPs who had gone out on a crusade against corruption and an unfair distribution of national wealth during the election campaign trail but turned uncharacteristically silent when there was a need for their voice to be heard. 

“I have noted with dismay how, save for a very small minority, many of my fellow elected leaders remain quiet about national issues; they are reluctant to voice concern and opinion about the many issues that affect the nation, its people and its interests.

“Seasoned politicians went about with confidence and, in some instances, boredom; the newly elected struggled to find their feet, some replicating the template of politicking associated with accessing funds, others learning through trial and error.”

Although the country’s political leaders have been at the receiving end of much criticism and even ridicule, some of which was of course based on misinformation and untruth, Juffa’s comments are both revealing and reassuring. Reassuring because there is at least one politician among the lot who believes the country’s political leadership style badly needs changing. 

We agree that a Member of Parliament’s first duty is to his or her electorate and it is their responsibility to ensure that government services, programmes and projects are efficiently and effectively delivered to the people.  Unfortunately, in the current PNG political context this entails membership of the ruling regime or proven support from the back benches.  

Every MP’s duty to the country should remain paramount and he or she should indulge in discussions and debates on issues of concern to the nation.  As Juffa contends, political leaders should change their mentality from a tribal perspective to a nationalistic approach. 

If PNG politics operated in the true spirit of fairness and equality there would always be a fair and equitable distribution of our national wealth, irrespective of which side of the Parliament benches our MPs sat in. 

That may be wishful thinking at this point in time but not an impossibility with the new breed of leaders who are entering the political arena.