“Corruption starts from little things.” That was the message delivered by Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Thomas Elu, as he called on Papua New Guineans to examine their own attitudes and practices towards corruption.
Mr. Elu made the remarks on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, during the CIMC 2026 National Development Forum, where he presented on “The Role of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Service Delivery.”
Addressing participants on the need to reset the country for the next 50 years, Mr. Elu urged individuals to take personal responsibility for combating corruption.
“Corruption starts from very little things, so let’s examine ourselves individually immediately.
“Are you contributing to eradicating corruption, or are you contributing to it? I’m pretty sure a lot of us sitting here, and everywhere else in this country, are contributing to corrupting
our nation. Our attitude is corrupt. We have a deeply serious problem inside our country.”
Mr. Elu said changing these attitudes and practices was possible, particularly if Papua New Guineans committed themselves to doing things differently over the next 50 years.
“If we can change that attitude—the way we practice, the way we do things—in the next 50 years, we will succeed.”
He pointed to countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, which he said had previously struggled with corruption but were able to make significant changes.
Mr. Elu said Papua New Guinea could learn from the experiences of these countries and use those lessons to address longstanding problems.
“Let’s be serious about what has happened over the last 50 years so that we can learn and help change this country, remove bad practices, and move forward.”
From an anti-corruption perspective, Mr. Elu said an important issue that must remain part of the national conversation was the relationship between corruption, integrity and service delivery.
“We cannot sustainably improve service delivery without addressing corruption and the integrity issues that undermine the systems through which services are
delivered.”
He urged Papua New Guineans to take the issue seriously and recognise that combating corruption begins with individual choices and everyday practices.
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