Whole is the sum of many parts

THE mighty engine is comprised of, perhaps, a thousand small component parts.
Each nut, screw, bearing, piston, plate, and disk is essential for the smooth operation of the engine.
To the engine must be added water, oil, fluids and fuel in right measures and consistently for maximum efficiency.
A first-class driver and a good mechanic will ensure long life.
Regular scheduled maintenance and due care will be rewarded in maximum performance across a greater distance.
Needless to say all systems from individual, family, company or government are
similarly composed and similarly operated.
Neglect the component parts, however inconsequential they might seem, and in time it will show up to the ruin of the whole.
An English poet, John Donne, writing in the 17th century said this rather well:

‘It is the sum of the parts that make up the whole, so in my opinion excellence comes from how one undertakes to do something. It all begins with the thought process – which is creative and exalted to produce something out of the ordinary’ – Pankaj Patel

“No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main,
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.”
The poem is remembered more by its closing lines than by the opening lines.
“Send not to know
For whom the Bell tolls
It tolls for thee.”
But the opening lines of Donne’s serves us rather well for the purpose of this discussion.
If, by neglect, we suffer a little part of anything to be washed away, then the whole suffers.
Now when we take this entire plot and cast it on the scene of the nation and the government of the people, much become transparently obvious.
Much lies here and there in wasted ruins; in time and money wasted in dribs and drabs, in careless thought or action; in opportunities missed and challenges unmet.
Taken together, these are the things that contribute to the failure of government in the country.
Often, people think that a government fails because of the big things – the Gross Domestic Products, the LNG and major mining projects, and Connect PNG.
But really these are the big engines.
It is the little parts of the engine that, if attended well, will make it work.
The LNG project might not get off the ground or might not work for the benefit of the people if the National Content policy is not in place, or if the legislation does not provide for a greater share of the profits accruing.
It will not work for PNG is the money is collected and kept off-shore so that the country suffers shortage of foreign exchange.
Or, proceeds are parked in a private company kept away from the purview of the Public Finances Management Act or the Auditor-General.
Of what good or benefit is such a scheme?
The carelessly flung plastic cup gathers in the streets and when enough have joined it in similar thoughtless fashion, it becomes a city’s litter problem.
After a dose of heavy rain washes them out to sea, it become sea pollution and pose serious threats to marine life.
Just one careless, thoughtless individual action in one secluded part of the city has a collective cost for the whole city at some future date.
Dragging one’s self to work at 8.15 rather than 7.45am as is stipulated by the General Orders for the Public Service, and taking off for home at 3.30 rather than 4.06pm may seem negligible but that is an hour wasted.
When 70,000 public servants do that each day, that is 70,000 man hours wasted every day.
That is a lot of hours that could be put into productive use in health, education, agriculture, and all the other important areas of the public sector.
Likewise, the tampering with and amendments of a few laws for selective and parochial interest will show up in weak laws overall and weaker governance.
Attend to the little things; attend the details and they will all lead to a better functioning whole.