Second Goal: Equality and Participation

By Graham Supiri

Based on Papua New Guinea (PNG) norms; the cultures and traditions, politics, economy, races, languages, geography, and the customary practices, five National Goals and Directive Principles were put in place by the PNG Constitutional Planning Committee (CPC) in 1974 after travelling throughout the country.

These are:  Integral Human Development, Equality and Participation, Natural Resources and Environment, National Sovereignty and Self-Reliance, and PNG Ways. Equality and Participation is the second National Goal and Directive Principle that is discussed here.

This Goal and Directive Principle say:

“We declare our second goal to be for every citizen to have an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the development of our country”.

That is, all PNG citizens; male, female, cripple, children and alike have equal rights to equally participate and benefit from any form of activity. Today, the western styles have added more strength to the existing second National Goal and Directive Principle so that it is practiced effectively.

However, observing the current trend, do we really know and understand the definition of equality and participation? Are the ordinary citizens of this nation given the equal opportunity to take part and benefit from any activity? What are the creations of political structures and equitable distribution of income and other benefits of development?  Further discussed here is the equalization of government services, equal participation by women, maximizing the citizens participating in every aspect of development and the means provided for them to exercise creativity, participation of all citizens, the achievement of universal literacy and finally the rights and duties of married couple.

Equality and Participation can be defined in many several ways. In defining equality, some group might say that it is about treating everyone the same regardless of ages, races, languages, cultures, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability. Others might define it as treating everyone differently in order to treat them the same. All in all, it is an approach of giving fair treatment, taking into accounts the locations, conditions, sizes, situations, status of people and other attributes. For instance, it would be unfair to speak English to a villager who never went to school. Different means have to be taken in order to treat people with similar condition fairly. On the other hand, participation is often equated with discussion, which typically involves a lengthy conversation with the whole group. However, participation can also include short exchanges between instructors and students, leaders and their people, parents and children or within groups of organizations like non-governmental, government and even the inter-governmental businesses.

The second National Goal and Directive Principle accordingly calls for an equal opportunity for every citizen to take part in the political, economic, social, religious and cultural life of the country. Politically, it has become common that man with higher income and a lot of cargoes are eligible to take part in elections while more women and men with little money are being deprived. This implies that despite our natural resources, we still face economic crises where certain people are enjoying the wealth and resources while others are suffering. Thus, our economic system in PNG is not equally distributed. For example, the benefit in terms of money and employment from PNG Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) go to the land owners and its employees alone, and not all citizen of this nation. On the other hand, it is clearly proven that majority of the population are involved in social and religious activities that circuitously deviate them from taking part in politics or other economical activities. However, what about the disable people; the blind, cripple, deaf and alike? Does the government provide other means for these people? According to the Post Courier August, 15^th, 2012 (Disability Cause Raised), the Chairman of the National Board for Disable person, Mr. Brown Kapi urged the government to recognize those with disabilities and provide other means so that they too can take part in the development. This means that nothing has been done so far to the disable people. Where is the equal opportunity for every citizen of this nation? Government need to take a greater step to give equal opportunity to every citizen.

The second goal calls for the creation of political structures that enable effective, meaningfulparticipation by our people in that life, and in view of the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of our people for those structures to provide for substantial decentralization of all forms of government activity. Since independence, politics have swallowed all political structures and government proposed development in almost all parts of the country. It has come in-line with corrupt practices like stealing public funds, accepting bribery and playing nepotism in the higher offices. For instance, the National 12^th/08/2012 (MP Misused Public Funds) reported that the former member for Lake Kopiago in Hela Province had misused some millions of kina meant for development. Such practices have created no meaningful participation by our people. Furthermore, majority of the people are unaware of any government services. Many people do not have access to road, health and education. The Post Courier 20^th/August/2012(The forgotten District in Hela),reported that people take more than two days to travel from Tari to Strickland in Lake Kopiago as there is no road linked. Anybody can assume that when there is no road, possibly there could not be any school and health services and this is true in Strickland. There is no any form of government services there. Evidently, they are not aware of what the current government is doing. Where is the decentralization of all forms of government activity? Obviously, there is no evidence to claim that any successive government has created political structures for the equal benefit of the entire population.

The second goal also calls for every effort to be made to achieve an equitable distribution of incomes and other benefits of development among individuals and throughout the various parts of the country; and it further aims for equalization of services in all parts of the country, and for every citizen to have equal access to legal processes and all services, governmental and otherwise, that are required for the fulfillment of his or her real needs and aspirations.

At present in many parts of PNG, majority of people are still in the 1960’s or back. They are still practising the traditional way of dressing, medication, languages and so on.  A report from the same Post Courier, 20^th /August/2012, (The forgotten District in Hela), stated that hardship and the daily struggles for better government services are everyday impediments facing more than 8000 Hewa Duna people, living in one of the remotest last frontiers of the Koroba Lake Kopiago District of the Hela Province. Successive governments have in the past decades ever since independence and to this present day, have long forgotten about these people, marginalised and isolated largely by vast geographically terrains and the lack of a road link with the outside world. Furthermore, the source stressed that many young people here are still wearing what is called “malo” and “purpur” for men and women respectively; not to mention the middle-age and old people. Implicitly, there is no any form of government services.  It is the same scenarioin Mt. Bosave (Nipa Kutubu electorate) and Sembiriki (Kagua Erave electorate) in Southern Highlands Province where there is no road and remoteness counts. It is absolutely right to say that people living in similar remote places in other provinces are facing the same problem. For example, the people of Oksapmin in the Western Province. Do PNG government really put into practice “Equality and Participation”? Many parts of the country are still in darkness in terms of basic services, meaning that there is no equal distribution of government services. What is the substitute of this second Goal and Directive Principle? There is no effort made to achieve an equitable distribution of incomes and other benefits of development.

The Goal and Directive Principle further calls for equal participation by women citizens in all political, economic, social and religious activities; and the maximization of the number of citizens participating in every aspect of development; and active steps to be taken to facilitate the organization and legal recognition of all groups engaging in development activities. Politically, women are far behind men despite the three female elected members in the parliament in the current election (2012). Based on these three female members of Parliament, many people including the government body may say that women have equal participation in politics, but this is totally wrong. Men and women should have been equally participated in politics if there had been more than 40 or 50 female members in the parliament. At present there are only three female members out of the 111 Members. Hence, women are yet to pull up their shocks in politics.  Furthermore, it is the men who are dominating the economic sector, and in religious activities, it is the men taking lead in the priesthood and evangelistic activities. The Post Courier, June 19^th/2012 (Women deserve reserved seats in Parliament), stated that women and children are still struggling behind men in all activities including political, social and religious activities. However, according to Papua New Guinea population statistics the number of women is greater than men. Where have the women gone? Does the government maximize the number of citizens participating in developing the nation? Evidently, there is no equal participation by women in all political, economic, social and religious activities.

Moreover, it calls for means to be provided to ensure that any citizen can exercise his personal creativity and enterprise in pursuit of fulfillment that is consistent with the common good, and for no citizen to be deprived of this opportunity because of the predominant position of another; and every citizen to be able to participate, either directly or through a representative, in the consideration of any matter affecting his interests or the interests of his community. It is obvious everywhere that jealousy is one of the main factors depriving the rights of individual or group from part-taking in activities that would sustain their lives. In many societies people fear that if they start up anything like business, they would end up losing their lives by thugs. For instance, the Post Courier 21^st, August, 2012 (Pregnant woman pack raped, dies), reported that a pregnant woman was gang raped a fortnight ago in the Middle Ramu and she was death on arrival at a near-by aid post. She and other two women were on their way to a base camp in Bogia to sell their garden produce and other items at the local market when they were attacked by criminals. Such activity is going on every day in every place and we cannot deny this fact. When women, men and alike witness or hear such illegal activities, they are indirectly deprived of their rights in doing such informal businesses as they fear of their lives. Where is the government stand in this regard? What has the government done to those opportunists who prey on other people? It is now or never, government needs to open it eyes to solve such on-going issues.

It is absolutely clear that in making decision that would affect individual, there is no participation either directly or indirectly in many societies in the country. Majority of the community people are not aware of what the government is doing. This is due to the lack of development such as education, road, health and other basic services. Evidently, high illiteracy is the main factor that prevents participation. The National, Thursday, August, 16^th, 2012(Stocking Literacy Statistics), stated that 43.8% of Papua New Guineans are illiterates. This is nearly half of the population.  This percentage might have been increased to more than 50%, assuming that many people were not counted due to hardship in accessibility. Moreover, in decision-making in many societies, it is made by the educated people and majority follows them without knowing the outcome of the decision. For instance, at the National level the current government makes the decision for every citizen of this nation. However, the consequences will be faced by everybody who is innocent. Therefore, the government officials need to create a government hierarchy in order for any government activity to reach the community level. Thus, every citizen will not only take part and benefit from the government activities but will also give them chance to air their views on matters that will affect them as individual. Otherwise, few people will continue to participate and majority will remained blind and deaf.

Equality and Participation also emphasized on all persons and governmental bodies of PNG to ensure that, as far as possible, political and official bodies are so composed as to be broadly representative of citizens from the various areas of the country. In this regard, it is absolutely clear that the PNG Parliament is composed of 111 members of which 22 members represent each Province while 89 members represent each electorate. In each Province we have the Provincial government and Local Level government who interact with the ordinary citizens. However, the most frequent question any PNG citizen can ask is whether those government officials carry out their task effectively and honestly or not. According to the National July 20^th/ 2012 (Somare regrets not fulfilling plans at electorate, national level), Somare accepted defeat as he has done nothing to his electorate. This indirectly implies that people from Somare’s electorate (Angoram electorate) must have been suffering from basic services for the past years when Somare was in power. In other words, it is equivalent to Angoram people not having their representative in the Parliament. Similar things are having in many electorates and thus, people do not seem to have their representative in Parliament. Thus, political and official bodies are not fully so composed as to be broadly representative of citizens from the various areas of the country.

Next, Equality and Participation cries for all persons and governmental bodies to endeavor to achieve universal literacy in Pisin, HiriMotu or English, and in “tokples”. Without any argument, it is obviously clear in PNG that there are more than 800 languages spoken. Besides these languages we have the ‘tok pisin’, Hiri Motu and English spoken by majority of the population. However, there are people who do not know how to speak either pidgin, Motu of English. For example, there should not be any debate that majority of Highlands’s population and even majority people in other regions do not know how to speak Motu. Even the tok pidgin is not spoken by whole seven million populations as long as illiteracy and development are concerned. The 43.8% illiterate population of PNG implies that almost 3,080, 000 people do not know how to read and write or even speak in English. Generally, there are unsolved ups and downs in the languages spoken. To date there is no common language spoken by every citizen of this nation. Thus, there is a great difficulty in delivering universal literacy in Pisin, HiriMotu or English, and in “tokples.

Finally, the second goals and directive principle calls for recognition of the principles that are complete relationship in marriage rests on equality of rights and duties of the partners, and that responsible parenthood is based on that equality. As observed in many societies, marriages today are not stable. There is no trust, cooperation and enjoyment in many of the families. Men head the North direction while women head the South direction. In the process innocent children are displaced, some dying of hunger. Thus, children’s educations are deprived- allowing them to roam the streets and prey on other people. According to‘Eastern Highlands Family Voice Goroka, Papua New Guinea’, many families create unnecessary argument for many reasons which subsequently allow them to devoice, their children being separated. This is a total indication that there is no equality and rights practiced in the family. A good example is the wife of our senior government official, the Governor General of PNG, Sir Michael Ogio who got married with a married woman. Such practice is happening in many of the families in the country and we cannot deny it. According to Don Polye’s speech, family is the backbone for any development, thus government has to stabilize family first before any development takes place. Otherwise, PNG will remain stagnant in terms of development.

As far as message in this document is concerned, the government has done very little to the second goal and directive principle. Almost 38 years have passed since independence and government is still struggling to achieve this goal. In order to fulfill the second goal and directive principle, the government is at high demand. It has to take rest, look back and start from the beginning. The government has to start at the family level and trail up until Equality and Participation are seen practiced either directly or indirectly by every citizen of this nation. Development will not progress unless such step is taken.

*Note: Graham Supiri is a Third Year (2012) Mathematics and Computing Student at Divine Word University, Madang. He has won K1000 towards his 2013 tuition fees.*