By CHRISTOPHER PAPIALI
I WANT to discuss the good years of the past in PNG. Some of the thoughts expressed here are mine and do not represent anyone or an organisation. It gives us this reminiscence to those of us in my generation and others who are ahead of me. We can learn from it and possibly focus on what we can give back to our people. When the nation is reaching its Golden Jubilee in 2025, we are challenged to have that ingenuity and the enterprising spirit to seriously introduce Social Welfare Benefit Scheme. This concept is the answer to all the ideas surrounding community empowerment and poverty alleviation.
When a nation is independent, the citizens are supposed to stand on their own feet. They are called to exercise their intelligence to be free from oppression and foreign control. The citizens have a duty to live harmoniously with each other while the politicians have the mandated duty to serve the people.
This week we ended the 49 Years of Independence and most of us have different understanding of what Independence celebrations is.
Independence celebrations are done for three purposes from our context: to think and appreciate self-rule from colonial masters and to reconstruct the future. And a more sort of mundane, would be to sell store goods, buai and smoke, and cooked food at the venues where the day is commemorated.
I could be wrong in my explanations above but it seems the three purposes define Independence Day for Papua New Guinea.
The conflicting views on the status of PNG’s independence brings to the fore the very basic principles of nationhood. A nationhood is defined by established government system, political will, sustainable economy, and foreign relations with other countries.
To this day, debate ensues whether it was appropriate for Sir Michael Somare to push for Independence quickly, delay or to allow Australia to continue administer Papua New Guinea.
On the 16th September 1975, Australian flag was lowered while raising the new PNG flag. This new flag was given on a golden plate, much to the envy to certain countries in Africa and South America because the latter regions had bloody wars often preceded by riots, and querela warfare.
It was a time of mix feelings during that time where Australia decided to allow Sir Michael Somare and his cohort of patriotic MPs to rule the new emerging nation.
Papua New Guinea, comprising a thousand tribes with 854 distinct languages – rich in culture, yet with complex belief systems – were united at the expense of international pressure from United Nations and the fallout of imperial powers of Britain, Germany, France, Spain and others.
Sir Michael Somare and his group saw what was happening in Port Moresby with Australians and few Asians wanting to control the resources, businesses, and more importantly the political decisions of the indigenous people.
And far more than that was the racist feelings rife among the locals and expatriates and this was quite obvious in the night clubs, educational institutions, and colonial administrative functions.
Although many highlands’ MPs in the House of Assembly questioned the move towards Independence, fully aware of them been marginalised, the interest among the MPs were tested on several House of Assembly sittings. Pioneer highlands leaders like Sir Tei Abel argued for fair representation, citing PNG was not ready for Independence and therefore a conceited effort was needed to reconstruct the destiny of the new emerging nation.
A united feeling emerged after 1974, although Bougainville at this time had already raised its own flag for Independence, it was time to bury the regional divisions, and stand on the grounds of Wan solwara, Wan Kanti, Wan Nation, PNG.
It is now 49 years ago and for me I was born just three years before Independence and the colonial rule brings me fond memories in rural Erave.
I witnessed the Ron Neville Family Coffee Plantation that employed more than 3,000 plantation workers who came all over Southern Highlands, Simbu and Hela. I truly witnessed cash flow with people buying store goods when our kina was trading between K1.300 – K1.2993 against US dollar.
I witnessed the quality level of education administered in the school that I was studying. Teachers were neatly dressed, punctual and spoke all day long in the English language. I read many books in the school library, as it was filled with many reading books. I read books on coconut, sea, Raka & Ranu, Magic Mat, Alice in the Wonderland and many other interesting books. And already you can tell some of us were focused to recreate our destiny. This was the power of colonial and post-colonial education system.
In the area of law and order, it was discharged at the very highest level. There was absolutely zero tolerance on any citizen breaking the rule of law. You were not allowed to walk around the Erave government station after 6:30pm, and if found you were locked up in the police cell. To this day, I am wondering how this very effective rule of law was administered and strategized. Could it be that the White men were feared because of their skin colour? Could it be that many of our people saw what it means to obey the laws?
My mind races with time and it could be that there would always be many answers to these questions. One thing is for sure. With an effective rule of law, people’s freedoms were controlled and regulated. As a result, businesses prospered, peopled got quality education, more cash crops were produced, and political leaders delivered services without any fear or favour.
In the higher education sector, students at the universities dreamt of travelling to other countries and others wanted to do something for the new emerging country and this is when they began writing, debating and arguing on contentious issues of PNG. I could say, this was the emergence of the indigenous consciousness.
In business, few Papua New Guineans, saw what the colonial masters and few foreign tradesmen were doing and they wanted to do the same which led them into starting their businesses. It was challenging at first but these locals stood the odds, inhibited at times due to their lack of business practice but persevered to reach the pinnacle.
If we critically analysis the 49 years of Independence, I am indebted to an analysis that somewhat demonstrates clear decisions, interventions of all types, with an unwavering government policy development.
From 1975 – 1990 (15 years), foreigners were still actively engaged with the government, doing business, running agriculture and monopolising key sectors of the country. These White men used profit and result driven strategies and consequently government services were flowing with a steady growth in the economic sector. Further, the rule of law precipitated peace, order, cooperation, tolerance and unity. In short, in those 15 years, we witnessed less crime, less killings and deaths in any national events like the General National Elections.
We saw the evident of decentralisation of power expedited at the provincial centres through the Governor’s Office. In SHP, I saw provincial education officers visiting rural schools on a monthly basis. And those found to be breaking law and order were jailed at district police cells. This was also a period where employment was available for college and university graduates. And government leaders during this time focused on delivering services. For example, in my Erave LLG, the Provincial member, Hon, Taguna Mapi constructed a 20km stretch of the road with only K17,000, connecting Tiapiali village to Erave LLG headquarter. I am wondering to this day, how was the provincial MP able to achieve this feat with an unbearable amount of kina.
This period (1975 – 1990) also witnessed a diversion of foreign policy. Already, some political leaders were disgruntled with our traditional trade partners like Australia and New Zealand. Hon. Paias Wingti charted the Look North Policy when he was the Prime Minister. This foreign policy opened the floodgates for Asians to enter PNG. Some argued this policy enabled PNG trade market expansions and it was an economical pursuit but the policy per se, attracted many illegal entries of Chinese, Indians, Filipinos without proper visas and passports and insidiously integrated and camouflaged with the Papua New Guineans.
The national economy was just doing all right where our kina was trading on the silk road but experienced turbulence in 1994, when it was trading at K 0.8958 per US Dollar. This period, so to speak, characterises the engagement of World Bank and IMF, where these two financial monsters introduced their Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). This was virtually the advent of the User Pay Policy.
And we must not forget that in 1989 Bougainville crisis began– a bloody rebellious war that contributed to many lives lost from all sides.
The internal political uprising, constant change of government and the interference of foreign forces into our economy dwindled the focus to national development.
From 2000 – 2024 (24 years), our economy opened little bit further. The Oil and Gas Act was reviewed, and attention was not prioritised on agriculture but on extractive industry. And at the political arena, the style of politics was changing very fast. This change was observed in the way Provincial Governors run their provinces. And even today, provincial governors had to wait for the national government to release the sectoral funds which is often marred with political and bureaucratic interventions. The district and LLG functions depend entirely on these funds which to certain degree touches the key issue of whether or not give full financial and administrative powers to Provincial Governors over their allocated provincial government funds.
During this period, the population grew very fast, with many migrating to the cities and towns. Port Moresby was the ideal destination for the rural -urban migrants. And today, Port Moresby city has a lot of migrants than anywhere else in PNG.
In 2004, we were introduced to mobile technology and communication over the digital network has grown rapidly. It is influencing a lot of younger generation that to somewhat has contributed to many social problems, but the one in particular relates to education where students are not improving their writing skills. At the university, I am coming across students who cannot construct logical sentences with quality research methods and eventually this is leading to a horrendous population botched on philosophy where ‘foreign consultants will do the write up and I do the implementation’.
We could continue with many things that has happened in the 49 years of Independence but the above are few of my recollections. I am sure you can add some more as you are reading this.
What is the future? For me, I think we have and are giving more ‘freedoms’ to Papua New Guineans and I would say we have ‘excessive freedoms. We have more freedoms than anywhere else in the world. You could be thinking why I am saying this.
The 349 sections of the constitution including the schedules do not provide some limitations to citizens to act and behave. We keep on arguing that the PNG Constitution is autochthonous but it does not spell out some parts of the law that should look at ‘people movement’. We need to address the Vagrancy Act. And we also need to address the structure of the national parliament with the voting process of the Prime Minister and the life of the terms of parliament.
Further, there is a need for legitimate identification of citizens. Many are born into the country but do not have proper identifications. The NID Card and Birth Registration is very vital but it is fast becoming a political or bureaucratic milking cow, that has so much questioned the integrity of the organisation.
In the next 50 years, I would like to see social benefit welfare system established, and this can be drawn from the national budget. An annual budget of K5 billion will relieve people who are not employed to be given some allowance of K100 – K200 per fortnight. Or capture the whole population in this exercise. Why I am saying this is this. If there are 300 people in a ward area, and if these people are paid K100 per fortnight, we have K3,000 given to that ward. In a month that ward picks up K6,000. This money can be used by the people to do many things like paying for basic food items, school supplies, sawmill, etc…We will create a cash flow in the ward and this will reduce people travelling out of the villages. Some of these positive results include the following:
- Mothers will use that money to sell ice blocks, buai, smoke and cooked food to support their families;
- Parents will use that to meet the needs of the school children;
- No voter in the electorate will depend on the MP or follow the MP around;
- Local wards and LLGs will venture into SME activities like saw milling, tailoring, chicken projects, fish ponds, piggery, cattle farm, etc…;
- The health of the citizens will improve;
- Ward and LLG developments will be largely taken care of by the people themselves;
- Criminal activities will decrease;
- More sporting activities will increase;
- More students will enter colleges and universities;
- More jobs will be created by Papua New Guineans themselves;
- More agriculture produce will reach the markets;
- More inter -district/provincial trade of goods and services will take place;
- People will not have that dependency syndrome from the elected representatives and even the national government;
- It will enable the national government to concentrate on major infrastructure developments and other macro-economic activities;
- More tourists will enter PNG.
The 2025 National Budget is estimated to be around K31 billion compared to the K27 billion in 2024 fiscal year. When we do our calculations, the K5 billion reaching the pockets of every citizen in this country on a fortnightly basis will put a tick to all the Key Result Areas (KRAs) identified in the MTDP4 and Vision 2050.
It is simple. What do you feel when you receive K200 per fortnight paid into your account by the state under the Social Welfare Benefit Scheme? I strongly think this will alleviate all our social, economic and political problems when we refocus our attention in the next coming years. Over to you politicians and social media influencers. I welcome debate and I am happy to discuss with anyone on how we can make this happen in our country.
In my related article 2, I will discuss how the Social Welfare Benefit Scheme can be effectively launched, managed and implemented.
Send your views to chrispapiali@gmail.com
