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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