PNGBLOGS

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

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 confu

By alt-UNITECH Reporter By all reports, last Friday's 45 th  Unitech graduation was most certainly not on time. The speeches contained the usual choking dose of inspirational tok nating.  At least HERST Minister Don Polye didn’t pretend that Unitech’s graduants got a fine education. Instead he encouraged them to spew forth across the nation and creatively solve whatever problems they encountered, armed with the substandard education they acquired.  We already know what the results of THAT will be:  It already affects us all on a daily basis, we see it everywhere! The good Minister also mentioned that he couldn’t mention VC Albert Schram until the Sevua investigation completed its work.    That statement follows an old PNG political strategy:   Convince the people that the government’s doing something which gives them the breathing space to do nothing until we all forget what they were supposed to do.  With respet to investigations and inquiries, this means that the government quiet

By alt-UNITECH Reporter By all reports, last Friday's 45 th  Unitech graduation was most certainly not on time. The speeches contained the usual choking dose of inspirational tok nating.  At least HERST Minister Don Polye didn’t pretend that Unitech’s graduants got a fine education. Instead he encouraged them to spew forth across the nation and creatively solve whatever problems they encountered, armed with the substandard education they acquired.  We already know what the results of THAT will be:  It already affects us all on a daily basis, we see it everywhere! The good Minister also mentioned that he couldn’t mention VC Albert Schram until the Sevua investigation completed its work.    That statement follows an old PNG political strategy:   Convince the people that the government’s doing something which gives them the breathing space to do nothing until we all forget what they were supposed to do.  With respet to investigations and inquiries, this

The students at this premier institution are fidgety over who is going to sign their certificates and degrees. And so they should. It is the small rolled up piece of paper which they have spent many years to achieve and upon which the future will depend for most of them. So yes, who signs the paperwork is absolutely important. But are all the students concerned about this, or are many using the graduation to score further points in their determined push to get Dr Albert Schram back into the country and back as head of the institution? We are certain the government appointed committee is working hard towards resolving the Unitech issues but we feel inclined to direct their attention back to the pertinent historical points which has led to this current crisis lest it be sidetracked by pressing current issues. The events at the institute resulted from long standing problems dating back many years and those that relate to Schram and the situation that developed when he took office in Febru

The students at this premier institution are fidgety over who is going to sign their certificates and degrees. And so they should. It is the small rolled up piece of paper which they have spent many years to achieve and upon which the future will depend for most of them. So yes, who signs the paperwork is absolutely important. But are all the students concerned about this, or are many using the graduation to score further points in their determined push to get Dr Albert Schram back into the country and back as head of the institution? We are certain the government appointed committee is working hard towards resolving the Unitech issues but we feel inclined to direct their attention back to the pertinent historical points which has led to this current crisis lest it be sidetracked by pressing current issues. The events at the institute resulted from long standing problems dating back many years and those that relate to Schram and the situation that developed when he took office in

The outlook of the City of Port Moresby leaves a lot to be desired, with uncontrollable filth and waste, hazarded road systems, physical planning failures, and the growing traffic congestion amongst other obvious cases of the growing decay within the city. These are facts to which a fabled City Authority (NCDC) can certainly attest. Yes, there is waste, in the form of over 100,000 tons of trash produced annually by city residents and business houses. There are the hazarded road systems which are responsible for an estimated 200 -300 road accidents in the City in a year as a result of neglect and lack of maintenance of traffic management systems.  Proliferation of settlements and illegal structures within the City is spiking at an alarming rate of 8% each year, thanks to a very lax and ineffective regulatory enforcement function of NCDC. Traffic congestion is a nightmare and has been unprecedented for the past 4 years as a result of poor road network planning. But more troubling has bee