Corruption is a real issue in Papua New Guinea – who can really fight against it?

by PETER S. KINJAP

LIKE many other societies throughout the world, in PNG, corruption has become necessary for business. In every government departments, schools, hospitals and legal system – corruption is becoming the mode for ease of conducting business. 

Public institutions, departments and systems have become the ‘fat cows’ and private domain is milking. Almost everyone is milking from the ‘fat cow’ including politicians, pastors, community leaders, educated elites and business people. Without corruption, the progress in business is so slow. Like they say in the lottery game, you got to be in it to win it. It’s becoming everyone’s concern now that you either be in the corruption deal and grow or you pass out. 

During the Somare regime in 2011, several politicians were blowing out hot air to tarnish the grand chief’s government image and ‘crooked’ in forcefully to take over the government while he was offshore for medical treatment. Today many articles are calling this move as a ‘cold coup’. It is a piece of history that only the future will measure it’s bourgeon. 

In August 2011, the ‘cold coup’ was the masterpiece of Peter O’Neill, Paias Wingti, Don Polye, Belden Namah, Sam Basil, Ben Micah and William Duma to name a few. During those instituting moments, amongst others Don Polye, Belden Namah and Sam Basil see fit for Peter O’Neill to provide the stewardship. The same politicians now barking on Peter O’Neill against corruption. 

If they (Polye, Namah, Basil) were serious about fighting corruption, they would have known who Peter O’Neill was. But unfortunately, they don’t know who was Peter O’Neill – the man who got his hands dirty even before becoming a politician; the NPF saga has a name tag of Peter O’Neil. 

Don Polye in a recent media statement promised PNG that if he gets the chance to form the next government after 2017 elections, he would reinstate the Anti-corruption body (ITFS) that O’Neill dismantled. Is he really going to do it? Is he going to investigate the Paraka saga? These are questions of concern by many citizens today.

If we don’t start to forget our recent past, we would have better stand up right and fight for corruption. But we have a tendency to forget our recent past so to do with fighting corruption, we cannot forget the past. If we forget the past, we forgot who we are and we might as well forget to fight corruption too.

Corruption is making our people suffer and dying. Corrupted politicians are compromising their role to submit to corruption for ease of business. Until and unless we get in fresh new people who have no connection to corruption network; we might see changes. If not nothing will change sooner!