The Papua New Guinea Futurist

We read in the newspapers of large funds being paid out by the government to individuals for contracts etc. We hear of public funds being diverted into personal accounts and misused. We see overnight millionaires. We see the games being played by both sides of parliament; we see the lack of development in the provinces. Yet the people of PNG just sit and watch. We elect MP’s during election time and then spend 4 years complaining that we are not getting services. Then we elect the same type of MP again and spend the next 4 years complaining. We, the people, deserve better. “NO CARE” mentality Why doesn’t anyone care? The root cause for the "I don't care" mentality is the issue of PERSONAL RELEVANCE. Someone steals K10million from Government funds, how does it apply to me individually? I don't really know. That is why I am not out there protesting. If it was my savings in the bank that was misused by a bank manager - you bet, I would be out there protesting. My MP bypa

Imagine a manager applying for a CEO role in a large, successful organization, he/she would not be given the position because of how well he can speak and whether he threw a feast for all the shareholders and gave them K100 each. He would go through a formal recruitment process 1. His CV would be made known What is his background? Is he an achiever, leader – this can be seen from the results of his involvement. E.g. did he build a business, did he manage a large organization. 2. He would go through an interview covering some of the following points What is your experience and qualifications? [The interviewer wants to know about his experience and details about his CV] What were the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? [The interviewer wants to know if he has experienced hardships and what decisions he made. A man who is experienced in life can be trusted to make good decisions especially decisions involving lots of money or implications on people] What experience do you

CURRENT 2011 POLITICS - stable party system is now fragmenting. - National leadership vacuum – no clear successor to the Chief Somare ECONOMICS - LNG & high commodity prices fuelling economic growth. - Higher Government revenues has ▲ allowing more spend into rural areas? - dispersion of wealth not equitable SOCIAL - ▲ in population putting a strain on current infrastructure that was geared for 1980’s population levels. - youthful population demographic - Development is evidenced in rural areas only – specifically POM. - still no clear national identity. TECHNOLOGY - Mobile technology ▲ impact throughout population. - High speed internet access allowing better access to information around the globe. - Beginning of mobile commerce ENVIRONMENT - Rising sea levels & changing weather patterns impacting on food crop yields. LEGISLATION - very short sighted legislation more focused on creating channels for funds to be approved and spent then on creating the machinery that will truly

How do we think and understand concepts? Most people think through a form of self talk or having a dialogue with yourself. Therefore, using a language that gives you a lot of flexibility in disecting an idea/concept is much better than a limited language that can only. Explain an idea in one way. An example is like eating food. You eat better if you have the proper knives to cut the food into bite size chunks. Pidgin is not a true language. It is a basic language used by early traders and colonisers who needed a language to get the natives to carry out their demands. It is not a language that can be easily used to express ideas or describe mental concepts. How do our people who can't speak English really understand the concept of democracy or nationalism? The pidgin explanation still does not fully cover the power and depth of these concepts. It is like trying to eat a chicken with an axe. It's messy with large chunks that can't be properly digested. On the other hand

Corruption follows a formula: C = M + D – A. C)Corruption equals (M) monopoly plus (D)discretion minus (A)accountability. Corruption flourishes when someone has monopoly power over a good or service, has the discretion to decide how much you get or whether you get it at all, and has no accountability. - Robert Klitgaard, “Addressing Corruption in Haiti.” This is exactly what is happening in the corridors of power especially in Government departments especially respect to projects fund – Land Owner MOA’s, Development projects etc. Just like any mathematical equation, to do the opposite to reduce corruption. Increase accountability – improve bite for Ombudsman Commission and penalise wrongdoers, reduce monopoly – meaning decentralising powers so that one office is not looking after everything. Some functions can be transferred to the provinces; Discretion must be removed by setting up clear policies, processes and guidelines to be followed.

The vast majority of young, people in this country are too busy trying to settle themselves and their families i.e. buying a house or car that they are not too keen on getting involved in the social and political issues. We are all hungry. We all want to make millions etc. This is because we are a product of our demographic development. Our parents were the first/second generation after contact with the white man. White man brought the western culture where wealth & status is measured in money. This mentality has taken over our culture. Mokas and bride price had a cultural significance of building relationships and was such that every man had a chance to do this – pigs can be raised by anyone with some land. Now everything is measured in money and leadership is bought by money, hence the lavish mokas and bride prices by people with access to large amounts of cash. So for the third generation (born around the late 70’s early 80’s) after contact – we are focused on making as much mon

K6 billion in trust funds have been reduced to K600 million kina. Billions have gone out the door without anyone knowing who has taken it, where it has gone? We have just passed K6 billion budget for 2011 which is a record for PNG’s history. Meanwhile development in POM is booming and consumption of luxuries has increased which is reflected in the SP Brewery expansion project showing the demand for alcohol etc. Luxury cars with a lot of property being purchased in Australia. Meanwhile, outside of Port Moresby, women are dying in childbirth. People are dying from preventable diseases. Schools with no school books or buildings. Impassable roads. No electricity. No government presence. Development funds used to fund personal bank accounts for politicians and their cronies. Given the fragmentation of society driven by the geographical features of PNG, it can result in many individual developments where people in an area will get together and contribute and build an aid post. Then they will

Given the population size in Papua New Guinea and the assumption that the standard deviation applies across large populations, you would think that there will be a majority of normal people with a small percentage of mentally retarded people and also a small percentage of genius within the 6 million people of PNG. All great nations have fostered their genius’s who have developed innovative solutions and have provided the impetus for national growth. The challenge for us especially the education system is to identify these individuals wherever they may be and to develop them quickly through the system so that they are able to contribute fully to national development. Think about Genghis Khan, who was known to have massacred everyone he conquered, always saved the best and brightest from all the nations he conquered because he knew that they would contribute more to his kingdom. Think of Los Alamos and the American effort to develop the Atom Bomb. Think about the American drive to put a

The current education system cannot cater for the growing population. The quality of education is not preparing PNG to be able to compete in the future world where the world will be more connected with money, materials and people being able to move around more easily, PNG workers will always be at a disadvantage. Over 90% of the population attend the public school system where even the brightest students are “dumbed down” by the experience. The privileged few who can send their children to private schools or even better to overseas schools will find that their children will have the pick of the jobs and will be in positions to perpetuate the power that their parents have started to build. The vast majority will end up as security guards and shop keepers whilst this country’s resources are controlled by the few elites.