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Monday, January 22, 2018

The leadership trend in PNG have changed into commodity of high value

Usually, in PNG societies the leadership was vested on a person based on trust and respect due to his or her community standings but now individuals are buying into be leaders of their own people.

There is a complete opposite trend happening in our country where leaders are buying their way into be the leaders of the provinces and electorates they boast to represent their people. In fact, they do not represent the true voice and concerns of their own people, community, district or the province. The agenda of the ruling party and its priorities becomes number one and the voted Members of Parliament (MPs) are tied to the political party codes of conducts which gives no room for individual political decisions by any voted MP.  

It is an indicative fact to accept that reality between Member of Parliament (MPs) who boast to have been voted and mandated by the people and those who have bought the individual votes through bribery, force and intimidation to be the Member of Parliament are the inevitability all voters forget to accept.

This contradicting fact that never convinces the MP or its voters to understand the reality that happens during the pooling day or at the counting venues when it comes to service delivery after being elected through fair or bribery practices. There are several agendas that the voted MP considers as priority than service delivery and development to benefit everyone.  

Those few campaign strategists who manipulates the voter’s rights during the pooling day and the agents for bribery in counting venues benefits from some slice of the privileges enjoyed by the voted MP while rest wait for the next five (5) years to vote him/her again or another new candidate.

The cycle continues to this day since the 1977’s first PNG National General Election. Over the years, the campaign strategies have improved as well as literary of the people also improved to understand the roles of elected MPs. However, money integration into campaign (buying votes) or bribery has been one of the most astonishing fact to know these days in the National General Elections. Every MP or intending candidates will never deny the fact that they have spent almost a million plus to contest for the provincial or the electorates of the country to be a MP.
In fact, few of the funds will be committed to the campaign logistics but mostly all funds are meant to buy favours (buying votes) as a means of bribery.  This gives the understanding that all elected MPs one way or the other buys their way into being the leaders of their so-called people that they represent. 

In this regard, its gives a general understanding that, once a candidate is declared after the counting as winning MP, he/she spends the first three (3) or four (4) years recovering costs of the election campaigns as well as for the supporters. Then last two (2) or one (1) year before the election becomes very intense and effective years for the sitting MPs to propose and initiate projects that have no socio-economical values and no sustainable benefits to the people, community, district and the province.

Most of these projects comes with ground breaking ceremonies one after the other at the last minutes into election campaign but reality never eventuates after the election. Such projects have now become norm to lives of PNG people and those days of living the life with high hopes and expectations have come to the ream of politics.  Under the cover of the last-minute projects before the National General Elections, the MPs usually dashes out DSIP and PSIP funds to their supporters and cronies on projects that never starts even after the official ground breaking. Later these allocated funds have no traces and vanishes into thin air if the same government comes back to the helm after election. These monies are assumed to have funded the campaign logistics and its associated costs like bribery. The proposed project becomes some people’s avenues to milk project money as free handouts and it becomes part of the political corruption.

In the election some MPs retain their political seats while others lose due to their cronies never mastering the bribery strategies carefully to win again. This is such an indication of those who have been faithfully serving the MP are few with vested interest to benefit themselves than the population at large or province and electorates each MPs represent. The parody of the MP retains or loses the seat, it’s a contest between the supporters who have benefited most against less or nothing during his or her tenure as a MP.  

It’s the money that comes to play in politics which determines the leader and not the trust and confidence on a person to serve as a leader. The power that is vested on a person by the community, electorate or the province through free and fair votes.

We see the fact of living in shanty towns, districts with no power, proper water and sanitation services but we tend to support the candidates in favour of money and create rowdy crowd to feel that the intending candidates have support to master the election victory. The feeling of trust and confidence in a leader to provide honest and transparent leadership at both local and national levels have no significance over the years.  The fact of money involvement in politics remains realistically true in a sense that; the leadership becomes a material quality which people can trade with money when people with qualities of leaderships, integrity and ethics are becoming rare in our PNG societies these days.

The supporters for intending candidates of PNG have never learnt enough from the last eight (8) elections. The remains of colonially built roads, schools, hospitals and airstrips are only indication of; there was once few transparent leaders in PNG in the likes of; Late Sir Tei Abal, Sir Peter Lus, Sir Imbaki Okuk, and other former colonial leaders who were so patriotic about developing this nation without any political differences like now a days in PNG politics. Their interest and first agenda were to provide development and services to the people and make it accessible to all the people. Their legacy remains a pure transparent politics and there was no bias or favoritism in service delivery or developments.
Comparing to these days, there is total opposite of what politics has been in the past, the current MPs are delivering developments and services to the places that have their base votes and cronies originates.  

People do not realize that, leadership is simply the capacity of someone to lead by providing guidance with example as a role model. A leader who is transparent in running the public affairs of an electorate or province for fair and equal wealth distribution, developments at the local and national arena.  
A role model, accountable and transparent leader who is well versed with the affairs of the district, province and the nation.

In PNG, the influence from a leader is not the same everywhere due to varying factors of culture, societal influence or socio-economical tends. However, the involvement of powerful cronies with money has a lot of influence in the political systems of PNG. Hence, it is the political power that the most prominent people are contesting in the National General Election to gain access to the prominent seat in the National Parliament as a MP. It is not a just a mere political contest for a leadership to bring services and tangible development to the people that they claim to represent but for personal gains and political power to build own empires.   

People tend to forget Integrity and trust, which are two important aspects of leadership that can never be traded cheaply. However, the leadership at the national level, in the provinces and electorates are fragmented due to business houses, individuals and associations are affiliating with political parties to hang on to the power and hide the corrupt practises under pecks and privileges of the MP. There is a complex scenario to understand how the business houses benefits from political affiliations and impact projects which never delivers to the expectations and exists as ghost projects.

There have been various allegations of leadership misconduct and official corruption towards most of the MPS in the recent years, but none of the MPs have ever indicated to step-down from leadership as MP to clear his or her allegations through the court process. Instead they have gone to all the court systems; from the District Court to the highest Supreme Court to defend themselves while still hanging on to the power. In the course of leadership tribunals on the implicated MP, the people that he/she claims to represent have suffered more due to inefficient service delivery and poor leadership. Such leaders deserve to retain or loose the seat is determined by money coming into play in politics and not the view of quality in leadership and service delivery of the MP that wins him or her the votes to be the Member of Parliament.

It will be absurd if a MP boasts to represent the province or electorate when the MP has never lived and seen his electorate for the last 4 years after winning the election. It is a pity to see people are dying of curable diseases, poor road conditions for public utility access, kids going to school in overcrowded classrooms, mothers and infants dying because of birth complications, hospitals running out of drugs, communities disuniting with tribal fights, ongoing and unresolved election related violence, fights with increasing lawlessness, roads are deteriorating, cities are becoming unsafe and unhygienic.  

On the other hand, the MPs and their cronies are enjoying the luxury, perks and privileges under the expense of the poor and complaining voters. Flying on the business class, driving on the tinted and luxury vehicles under heavily armed police escort, high class medical treatments overseas, families and children living overseas. These are some of the obvious corrupt practices and bias traits of a leader which makes the entire people of the province or electorate feel alienated and marginalized.

Logically, it is not the MP’s own sweat out of the times committed in the business investment or studies to be a leader to benefit his or her own associates and cronies, it is supposed to be a bearer of a politically mandated leadership title. To raise hands to be a leader means, a leader for the voters in favour or those that are not in favour and everyone in the province or electorate. In some cases, it never matters to a MP, as long as he/she has the money to buy votes through bribery, he/she can be a leader and represent the people on parliament sessions only with presence (such leaders that never debates or even raises an issue in the floor of parliament) and then off to conduct their own businesses. It’s a norm to some under-performing MPs who have bought their way to be MP.

Whilst on the privileges of MP, the cost recovery and vote rigging strategies comes to play for next coming election. It is a shame to call those kinds of MPs as leaders of an electorate or province when actually they are serving the interest of their cronies and building their own empires. They are earning respect through money and corrupt acts and not as a mandated leader for the people.  

2017 National General Election has taught most people some good lessons to be judgemental with what kind of leadership they require in their electorates and the provinces. The past has gone and now the trend has changed with money involvement in politics and campaign. People need honest and transparent leadership at every level, one who can deliver tangible service with infrastructure development to improve the lives of people in real time.

It’s better to avoid those leaders that are trying to buy their way into be a leader by buying votes through bribery and rigging the election process. As long as they have the money, they can do anything it takes to be a leader in a self-style means than being voted by the people for the trust and confidence on a person that has leadership quality. A person who can lead with transparency and honesty to serve the best interest of the people he/she has chosen to represent as a leader.

When the 2017 National General Election is over, it is better to revisit the campaign policies that each of the wining politicians have used as their political platform to bring services and developments. The campaign times are different with all good things that brings the people to next level with expectations. However, after the formation of the government, the mystery remains as; the people’s leader is driven away in tinted glass vehicles under heavy armed escort, living in hotels and apartments with gates guarded 24/7.  
It’s the PNG style of leadership which the people wants or the leaders themselves wants it.


The question to; who will change the whole picture of politics and leadership style in the 20th Century for PNG remains uncertain.     

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