The middle class in PNG seems to be preoccupied with a debate over whether the country should continue to look South to Australia and New Zealand for assistance or whether it is better to look North to China.
But, prompted and encouraged by Australia, China and Prime Minister Somare, they are asking the wrong question and thus they continually miss the answer to the question they should be asking which is how can PNG lift itself above its current problems and find a better way forward?
The answer to that question is that PNG needs to look internally to its own Constitution and National Goals to find a better future rather than continually looking to foreign governments and multinational corporations.
It should not be disputed that Australia has a terrible record of assistance to PNG. The Australian government happily pours millions of dollars into the aid bucket every year safe in the knowledge that most of the money will be spent enriching Australian consultants and suppliers and happy to disregard the fact that the rest will just be diverted by corrupt politicians and public servants, while Australian companies gorge themselves on a massively imbalanced trade with their northern neighbour. PNG has and continues to suffer a massive leakage of its wealth into Australian coffers.
And yes, Australian and other Western mining companies have an appalling record in PNG for social and environmental abuses. As the Catholic Bishops have just pointed out, these comapnies have left most Papua New Guineans worse off than before, struggling with widespread corruption, poverty and violence.
But does this mean PNG should just turn its back on its old colonial mastas and welcome in the Chinese to replace them?
The Chinese government and its State owned corporationsins have for several years been spreading out across the globe in search of mineral resources, new markets and political allies. But the corruption, human rights abuses and environmental destruction that have followed in their wake to the farthest corners of the globe mirror the past abuses of white European colonialists.
The truth is that both China and Australia look on PNG with the same hungry eyes and care not for the future of its indigenous people.
If PNG it is to move forward along the path to a fair, just and balanced society, it must fundamentally change its current subservience to both countries and instead start to set the terms of the relationship with the outside world.
Papua New Guineas 'founding fathers' the bright young men and women who guided the work of the Constitutional Planning Committee foresaw very clearly what PNG would need to do to avoid the pitfalls of other nations trying to transition rapidly into the 21st Century and the perils of becoming the lapdog of foreign powers.
The Committee set out five very clear and simple National Goals that were intended to guide all persons, corporations, government departments and politicians, and enshrined these in the Constitution:
1. Integral human development
2. Equality and participation for all
3. Political and economic independence
4. Environmental protection and wise use of natural resources
5. Respect for Papua New Guinean ways
PNG is blessed with abundant natural resources. But that has been her curse over the past thirty years as Malaysian loggers and multinational mining and petroleum companies have intoxicated its leaders on promises to get rich quick while blatantly stealing resources from under the gaze of a bewildered people.
PNGs leaders would do well to stop listening to the self interested harping of people like Greg Anderson from the PNG Chamber of Mines and Madam Lu from the Chinese State owned Ramu nickel mine and move on from fuelling the debate over whether to allow Australia or China the lead in stealing the family silver and return instead to study the five national goals set out in the Constitution.
It is these five goals that offer the path to salvation through a modern economy, a fair and just society and a united country.
The people of PNG need to wake up to the fact that if they are to avoid the pitfalls of history they must take a new and unexplored path to freedom and prosperity but that the roadmap they must follow already lies within their own Constitution.
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Comments
Firstly the middle class should not waste its time worrying or
Firstly the middle class should not waste its time worrying or debating whether we should look north to China or south to NZ and Aus. They should take stock of who we are, what resources and the capabilities we have and determine the new destiny. For a start we have one of the best constitutions in the region, we have good vision laid out our visionaries-the Constitutional Planning Review Committee), unlike other countries we still have all the resources. So we have the basic elements.
The middle class needs to revisit and review the development model/path used in this country. They have to re-look at the countries policies and its long term and medium term strategies. All these policies and plans promote macro development. Macro development promotes large scale foreign companies from countries like Aus, NZ, China – the very countries that are benefiting a lot from our labour, our land and resources. These are the people taking control of development in this country.
We need to change the current development model, be innovative and come up with our own. The current model has been adopted from Australia and other developed countries. This is the model that has and is resulting in the indigenous people being landless and slaves on their own land. This is the model that is resulting despair, misery and loneliness amongst people. This is not what we want in this country. We need a model that will result in elevation of our peoples’ standard of living. If Cuba and other countries in South America are able to come up with a model that suits them and fully benefits their people, I believe we can. Nothing is impossible, the first step is for the middle class to be aware that:
1) the development model in the country is not helping our people but outsiders;
2) our policies and plans are all in-favour and promote foreign companies investing and reaping our people and resources; and
3) we have the basics elements we need as mentioned above. We simply need to chart the new course for this country.
I thought B’ville will have it right but NO, it’s the same model used there where the government is just a distributor. All our resources leave our shores, they are packaged somewhere and are sold back to us at the high price. So who benefits…the outsiders. The government should create an enabling environment to support and promote the informal economy where most of our grassroots people participate in and greatly benefit from.
The middle class should not waste time talking about whether we should north or south but we should look within and set the new course.
Yes indeed, PNG needs to look at the experience of other
Yes indeed, PNG needs to look at the experience of other countries, e.g. the Cuban experience with health and education. It also needs to value, promote hold onto its own indigenous genius - of sustainable productivity and social inclusion - customary land.
Absolutely agree with everything said so far. But I don't blame
Absolutely agree with everything said so far. But I don't blame anyone for that confused thinking. All those debates are a manifestation of a colonised and dependent mind.
The seeds were sown all those years ago when John Moresby sailed into Hanua Bada, when Kaiser and the Lutherans landed at Simbang in Finschhafen, when the Catholics landed at Alexishafe, when the Methodists landed along the Papuan coast, when the Germans landed in Rabaul and so on and so forth.
Colonisation is the worst thing that has ever happened to us and we need to break free from all its legacies. The mental scar that this event left on our national psyche is unbelievably negative and patronising. Our whole being has been truly colonised in the full sense of the word.
As a start, can someone (or shall I say - can we) start researching, writing and teaching about our own indigenous history. Let's start learning about how great we have always been. Let's start to get our self esteem and dignity back – both individually and collectively.
If there must be a revolution in PNG, then it must be the revolution of the mind. We keep on telling ourselves 'yes we can', but do we believe what we say? If not, then WHY NOT? I strongly believe that only by having a little bit of self esteem can we begin to believe the often abused phrase 'yes we can'.
Our constitution and frameworks for sustainable nation building are already in place as John Chitoa said. But unless we believe we can make them work, they will simply remain as ideals on pieces of paper.
I agree with these comments so far, especially, John Chitao...so
I agree with these comments so far, especially, John Chitao...so I won't have to repeat anything already said. The middle class should not waste time debating look north or south.
Instead we should be thankful of the fact that we are still being given grants plus aid in varying forms from both north and south partners, even if it's a 1 or 2 % contribution to our economy. Even if it is not Australia or China, but some other country, it is no mystery that we still be having the same problems faced now. Why?
Let me add on that there's still one problem unsolved. Best brains from best professionals or whatever can make the best of plans, strategies, laws, amendments, policies, development models etc., but without the right mechanism or frame of mind to fulfill these, everything comes to either a standstill or reverse.
Our management/administration deficiency syndrome in carrying out these plans is to blame. Plans after plans, policies after policies, models after models all can be made, but to no avail. We will keep going around in circles. Plans need to be actioned properly. We need to understand the meaning of responsibility, not to redefine it.