37 YEARS OF CORRUPTION: DO WE ACCEPT CORRUPTION AS A NORM OR IS THERE A WAY FORWARD FOR THE COUNTRY?

By LUCAS KIAP

For the last 37 years of nationhood, we have been letting corruption to grow systematic and systemic - making our lives difficult, limiting our opportunities, making our systems malfunction, setting back our progresses, creating loopholes for our systems to be manipulated, distorting of our democratic values, depriving and denying us of our basic human rights and trapping millions of our citizens in poverty.

We have forsaken our country and its future by confessing and accepting corruption as a norm, part of our history, cultures, and traditions. We have regarded it is as part of our way of life, for instance “Big Man” are not punishable even when they commit serious crimes. We regarded “wantok system” or nepotism as helping one another or returning a favor. Bribery has been regarded as normal and is considered as a gift to facilitate requests in a speedy or timely manner. Unfortunately, our traditional norms have presided over western norms. We are a nation at confusion and lost between two extreme worlds – one inherited from our ancestors and one inherited from colonial masters during independence.

At this juncture, I would like to propose this question - do we accept corruption as a norm or is there a way forward for the country after 37 years of corruption?

In this article I attempt to answer the above question in three parts. The first part, I write about corruption as I see it. The second part I write about corruption as the rest of Papua New Guineans see it according to my 12 years of judgment. In the third or final part, I write about the way forward for the country as according to the way I see it.

CORRUPTION AS I SEE – A UGLY MONSTER

When I first begin to understand the corruption problem in the country 12 years ago in 2001, I want to find out how it affects my life and my country. As I searched deeply into the problem of corruption I came face to face with a young, ugly, and black monster yet appeared friendly. The monster was appeared to be looking healthy, well fed and looked after. From its appearance I could guess it was 37 years of age. The monster starred at me with its big and red eyes through which I could be able to see all its internal organs. I saw the intestines and what it has been feeding on. I could see human bones – the bones of the mothers died of breast cancer, the bones of children died of malnutrition, the bones of tribal warriors died in tribal fights and the bones of those who died as the direct result of lack of basic government services. As a searched further deep into all its internal parts and organs I noticed some of the ugliest sights decorated with sign boards of different shapes and sizes I had never imagine exist in our real world today. The writings on the signboards read, “I will deny and deprive you of the opportunities to education, employment, health care, transport and basic government services”. The sight of what I saw really frightened the hell out of me – drained and exhausted all my energy. I sat motionless, my heart pounding, eyes filled with tears of bitter sadness - all I could managed to say was “God, why are you letting this to happen for so long in a country where its people considered to be your own people or Christians?” As I come to face to face with this deeply rooted monster, I see my future slowing evaporating before its eyes.

Corruption as it appears to me is a sinister monster with thousands of mouths that we have been feeding and looking after for the last 37 years of nationhood. We have tamed it to be our family member, best friend, relative, wantok and countrymen. We have let it grow its roots among family, cultural, social, political and economical settings. In the dark when no one notices it, it has slowly been creeping and knocking at the doorsteps of every Papua New Guineans, feeding on our greed and selfishness to escalate the deteriorating of our integral and moral human values. As a result, we have been in the race to be the conquerors of Mt. Everest before others, we want to reach the North and the South Poles to rewrite history, we want our initials curved on some deep sea monsters, we want to fly our flags on the moon, and we want to travel to Jupiter before the NASA scientists.

Yes we have mustered the art for the destruction of our own country and future and we are already addicted to it - we are on an endless mission.

Corruption as I described above is a monster to me. But what about the rest of Papua New Guineans think? Read on to find out what I think is their perceptions about corruption in the country.

CORRUPTION AS THE REST OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA SEE IT – A NORM 

Unfortunately, the rest of Papua New Guineans have allowed corruption as a norm, originated from our cultures and traditions. For instance, a “big man” in a typical PNG culture is not punishable by the laws. The big man culture is well versed in PNG politics where politics have been misconceived as a means to personal wealth creation. Politicians or PNG big men begin their political careers as ordinary persons, or civil servants, and graduate as business entrepreneurs after their discontinuation from office. A browse through the political chronicles of PNG will reveal this interesting trend. In fact, most medium scale business activities in PNG are owned or partly owned by politicians and ex-politicians. The emergence of politicians-turned-businessmen or vice versa after 1975, and the difficulties in separating business from politics, had sent out false signals to aspirants to political office. Contesting elections today has become a god sent opportunity to wealth accumulation. Cases of diverting public monies into personal accounts or into those of the politician’s business associates are reported everyday in the daily newspapers.

An example of how politicians or PNG’s “big men” divert and steal public funds - when government funds (millions of Kina) are released for projects, politicians often pretend to open trust accounts to be managed by government department secretaries. While the money is in the trust accounts, a network of signatories to the money is established to draw out the money. When this is done and in order, third parties (often their cronies) are consulted and asked to submit project proposals or register ghost companies with bogus claims so that payments can be made to them. Eventually the money is transferred and shared between the key players. The key players of this political mafia gang type network include some of our politicians; government CEOs, secretaries, directors; and their financial controllers. They establish networks with bankers, accountants, lawyers or other specialists to help them generate, move or store their illicit income. The transaction is often enabled by professionals from many fields. With the network strongly established, creating an atmosphere of mutual trust and reciprocity; they attempt to provide a legal appearance to corrupt transactions, producing legally enforceable signatories; and they help to ensure that no one is blamed in case of detection.

Tribalism in the Highlands and other parts of the has also been promoting the “big man” culture. In the Highlands, where tribalism is common, there is a stiff competition between rival tribes in the numbers game of “big man”. The tribe that boasts more big men is a powerful tribe. As a result the tribal big men in the highlands are as powerful as little gods. When the tribal “big man” commands his tribes, they respond with “yes boss”. All tribal members stand ready to defend their tribal big man even when he is guilty. To promote more members of the tribe to big-man status, the big man usually a politician from the tribe requests tribal members to register ghost companies and submit ghost project proposals. He then diverts all or part of the District Development and Improvement grants or other project funds to the companies where the money is stolen - sometimes there is little work done or most of the times the quality of work done is very poor. The transactions are often aided by government officials and bureaucrats. This practice is widespread and is common in PNG were District Development and Improvement grants or other project funds have been diverted, misused and stolen.

Coupled with the PNG “big man” culture, greed, selfishness and individualism has allowed corruption to be integrated into part of our culture escalating the deteriorating of our integral and moral human values. The selfishness and greed of wanting more has led to people stealing from the State wealth through ghost project proposals or by other means such as registering ghost companies where public funds can be diverted to, often aided by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats who benefit from the scheme. As a result we have developed a culture of only caring for ourselves. We don’t care about the consequences of our actions or decisions in the lives of others. We simply tend to think that what happens to others is “none of our business”. Sadly, this is not a reflection of our Christian values and believes, which we always claim as in a Christian country.

The desire for the destruction of our country and future in the pretext of accepting corruption as a norm for the last 37 years of independence has led to the emergence of a complicated attitude problem. As a result it has become part of our upbringing and has been slowly fueling corruption. We have invented shields of ignorance and pretended that there is nothing happening at our doorsteps or that of our neighbors. We defend ourselves when we are criticized, exposed or investigated for corrupt practices. We always try to play the game of not guilty, knowing well that we will eventually come out clean by manipulating a corrupted and often flawed judicial system. We take refuge as Christians in a Christian Country; pray, attend church services, take the Bread of Life and preach the gospel to be trusted and accepted. We take temporarily relief by blaming others for own problems, taking advantage of a very large illiterate population.

We have accepted corruption as a norm but did we admit it as a problem. In the following I will discuss some of the confessions by our former and current politicians and citizens who admitted corruption is a problem, as reported in our two daily news papers.

CORRUPTION IS A NORM BUT DID WE ADMIT IT?

Our inability to address corruption, confusing ourselves between the two extremes (cultures) – one inherited from our ancestors and one inherited from our colonial masters have allowed corruption to flourish in the social, economical and political settings unattended for the last 37 years of independence. But did we admit we have a problem? In the following, I discussed some of the confessions by our former and current politicians and citizens who admitted corruption is a problem, as reported in our two daily news papers.

When tried to shake off a shaky coalition government surrounded by scandals of the Sandline and economic crisis in 1997, the former Prime Minister late Sir William Bill Skate in a press release, attacked Sir Julius Chan (also a former Prime Minister) as 'ultimately responsible' for his Ministers' conduct during the Sandline crisis. He said 'our great nation of Papua New Guinea has been plundered and pillaged by a scattering of politicians and corrupt leaders and we want this sad chapter to be closed.' He then called for an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), saying 'if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear'. Soon after, Mr Skate expelled Chan's PPP from the Government. It’s sad especially when a head of a country confessed corruption is an issue yet let unaddressed to grow from bad to worse over the years.

Sir Mekere Mourata when he was PNG’s Prime Minister in 1999 once described corruption in Papua New Guinea as Systematic and Systemic. Systematic because it is well planned, organized and cleverly executed to steal large sums of public funds (money) avoiding being detected and caught. Systemic because the current systems in place or the lack of strict checks and balances facilitates or is conducive for corrupt practices to flourish in the public sector for the last 37 years. Is Sir Mekere Mourata not responsible for failing to promptly investigate into the fatal shooting in June 2001 of Steven Kil, Peter Noki, Thomas Moruwo and Matthew Paven during a police operation against anti-government protesters at UPNG?

Former MP for Lae Open and then Deputy Opposition leader Bart Philemon in 2007 claimed the PNG’s politicians as ‘Dirty money MPs’. He claimed that Papua New Guinean politicians were walking on a “minefield” of “dirty money” from unscrupulous people with money, who were hell-bent on influencing political outcomes for their vested interests. The claim was made at the 7th annual Ethics Symposium of the Divine Word University’s Faculty of Business and Management in Madang. Mr Philemon said the country faced the real danger of seeing its Members of Parliament bought out by those with “big pockets (of money)” to get political favours for their vested interests. “How can we ensure our politicians survive this minefield?” Mr Philemon asked. In direct reference to the 2007 election where he observed large sums of money allegedly used by vested interests, Mr Philemon claimed some of the winning candidates demanded their election expenses be refunded if they were to join certain political groups in the lead-up to the formation of the new government last month. Such claims by MPs are common when in the Opposition but when in the Government it is a rare scenario.

The former National Planning Minister, Paul Tiensten in 2008 claimed that there was a “10 per cent” syndicate operating out of the Vulupindi Haus, the headquarters of the departments of Finance, Treasury and National Planning. The Minister made this revelation when announcing the National Executive Council’s decision to replace department secretary Valentine Kambori with Joseph Lelang. Mr Tiensten said: “This building houses a syndicate ... everybody is getting a 10 per cent cut to approve a cheque.” He said National Planning will start cleaning the department and the rollover effect will help clean the other two departments as they work together. Is Mr. Tiensten a credible and reputable person to raise such allegations? From what I know he is yet to tell the people of Papua New Guinea about the disappearance and whereabouts of billions of kina he managed under the National Planning department.

HR Holdings Limited managing director and former chairman of the PNG Manufacturer’s Council Sir Ramon Thurecht in March 2008 made a similar claim of a 30 per cent syndicate involving bureaucrats and politicians begging businesses for money before work can be done. But, he said the businesses could not speak out because of fear the bureaucrats and politicians would retaliate. He said “our biggest challenge now is to work with the Government”.

“Corruption in PNG will reach a dangerous trend if leaders and publics servants implicated are not prosecuted”, prominent lawyer Dr John Nonggorr said in September 2007 when commenting on PNG’s ranking in the Transparency International Corruption Index , which fell by 13 places. Dr Nonggorr said the implications of widespread corruption domestically must not be underestimated. He said it had serious consequences for governments, governance and the continued functioning of a State. Dr Nonggorr said that with basic public services such as schools, hospitals, roads and bridges in a deplorable state throughout the country, the inability of the State to protect public property by preventing corruption, would lead to the loss of respect for the State, its institutions and authority generally. “This would give rise to public disobedience, which may demonstrate itself in public disorder including violence.

The rest of Papua New Guinea has joined the bandwagon; as I have observed a lot of anti-corruption websites or blogs starting to emerge. Papua New Guineans are now in large growing numbers using the social media to their advantage by writing and posting about our country’s worst night mare, corruption epidemic. Also, the editorial or viewpoints columns of our local news papers contain a significant number of letters or views of Papua New Guineans writing everyday about our friend, relative, and wantok - corruption. Papua New Guineans are now starting to wake up from their long sleep to face their tamed monster - describing it as a faceless evil or something worse, whatever they can think, name or describe it.

CORRUPTION A NORM: HOW MUCH HAVE WE BENEFITED?

We have accepted corruption as a norm yet we have admitted it is a problem yet we let it to flourish unattended for the last 37 years of independence. That means everyone in this country must have benefited from it and are better off than other countries. But how much have we benefited?

I am from the highlands where the PNG’s “big men” culture strongly exists. To me I don’t easily accept the fact that these big men or chiefs have been subjecting the future of our beautiful country to ransom. I find it extremely impossible to understand why Papua New Guineans have been tolerating the big men culture letting them getting away unpunished while we have been suffering in a rich country.

Because I don’t drink from the same cup or eat from the same plate with politicians. I don’t share a same wife and children with them. They don’t provide the daily needs of my family. I struggle everyday to provide something on the table for my family from my own hard work and sweat. The fortnight salary I get is simply not enough to rent a house in the city. It cannot even last two weeks. Having three meals a day is still a luxury and a dream.

I see our politicians with bitter sadness and pain. When I see them, I reflect on the many years of suffering I have been enduring in a rich country. I have been blaming them for making our lives difficult, limiting our opportunities, making our systems malfunction, setting back our progresses, creating loopholes for our systems to be manipulated, distorting of our democratic values, depriving and denying us of our basic human rights and trapping millions of our citizens in poverty.

As a result of corruption, the government of Papua New Guinea has neglected our infrastructure - our lifeline to deteriorate over the years, often blaming the public servants for not implementing government policies.

The daily local newspapers continue to reveal the breakdown of law and order with escalating in violent crimes that often scares foreign investors and tourists away and out of the country. Papua New Guinea is regarded as one of the high risk countries in the world to do business or to visit.

In cities and towns, squatter settlements are quickly developing, becoming a breeding grounds for street ‘mangis’ (boys) who eventually found themselves on the streets searching for opportunities to survive – they simply don’t care if taking another person’s life is a crime or a crime commit to survive. Far worse, there is total no control over the influx of illegal Asian immigrants into the country, taking away business and employment opportunities from the locals. Worse still, there is a stiff rise in the smuggling of cheap low-quality counterfeit goods by Asians into the country, invading government tax systems and feeding our people with rubbish and rob our off our hard earned Kina. The number of illegal businesses (brothels, pornographic movies and gambling) conducted by Asians has dramatically increased over the years, undermining the rule of the law.

These are painful, deep problems that quick fixes will not solve them. But we cannot let it unaddressed only to haunt our future or that of our children’s or their children. There should be a way out and I will discuss this bellow in the final session of my discussion.

IS THERE A WAY FORWARD?

Yes there is a way forward. The big men culture is neither our destiny nor our future. We cannot deny ourselves of a better life and pretend that corruption is a norm. Every Papua New Guinea must be on equal footing with our political leaders and play on a same level playing field. There are no two sets of laws in this country. There is only one constitution for every citizen in the country regardless of creed, race, ethnicity, religious background or political affiliations.

We cannot let big men ruin and deprive our future because we don’t eat from the same cup, eat from the same plate or sleep on the same bed. Everyone should be given and should have equal opportunity to excel in life as one desires. This country and everyone who occupies it from time to time should rise above their full potential.

We are not going to and shall not continue to suffer in a very rich country where we should be better off than other countries that are not rich as our country. Nor we cannot to walk under the shadows of the so called PNG’s “big men” culture. This is not our future and our destiny.

I don’t want my children to go through the suffering that I am going through every day in this rich country. I don’t want to live and die leaving behind a future that is uncertain for my children. When I know that I have the opportunity to at least achieve a change for this country – I don’t want to die without trying it.

The time is now to start act to stop corruption. To stop corruption we must rise above our own fears and doubts. We must defeat our confessions of “big men” culture and reject it. We must trade our greed, selfishness, bribery and wantok system cultures and adopt caring, giving, protecting and defending cultures. Remember, our ability to extract our natural resources to sustain our future will not be achieved without consequences. One day our ability to extract more of these resources will be questioned as our country is struggling to maintain a delicate balance between our increasing demands and natural laws which will eventually come into play and halt our ability to extract more of these resources.

It’s about time we need to write a bible about corruption in Papua New Guinea. Let’s preach our corruption bible in every corner of Papua New Guinea exposing the people who have been stealing and how much they have been stealing from the national wealth. We expose how much they have before becoming politicians or public office holders and how much they have amassed after becoming a public servant. If we can expose corruption to every Papua New Guinean, I believe they will accept it as a message of hope because 99 percent of the populations are not aware of the corruption problem. They are not aware of what we have been writing and discussing on every social networking sites and blogs. None one in this country has committed his life to preach the gospel of anti-corruption.

Yes this is the ONLY way forward. If you truly believe in this country and have been thinking that this country should be on its way progressing and advancing to achieve the status of a developed country in less than hundred years but is not because of the corruption, please do not hesitate to join me. I have lived in this country long enough to know exactly what has been going on. I also know a way forward for PNG to be a country free of corruption but full of patriots who will bet their lives for this country and want to achieve greater and extra ordinary things.

Contact the writer: lucaskiap1080@gmail.com
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