By Dr. Joseph Ketan

Despots, tyrants, warlords, and thieves, under the guise of leadership, have destroyed nations in Africa, Latin America and Asia. All the wealth of Africa has been stolen by dictators and stashed away in the USA and in Europe. The resource rich countries in West Africa have been reduced to poverty. The wealth of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Lesotho has been plundered by corrupt leaders, leaving almost nothing for the people of the southern countries of Africa. The situation in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, and numerous other countries in South America and the Caribbean is the same. Lives of people in all of those countries have been reduced to destitution by corruption and mismanagement by both elected leaders and by self-appointed dictators.

Papua New Guineans have been spared the indignity and painful rule of tyrants, although we have suffered the consequences of corrupt leaders. The majority dictatorship of the Westminster system of government has been thoroughly manipulated by corrupt politicians to plunder state resources to enrich themselves.

Rather than learning from the terrible experiences of African, South American and Asian countries, PNG leaders have opted not to protect the resources of this country. In stead, they have followed the footsteps of African despots by stealing from their own people.

It is hard to find a good leader in PNG at this point in time.

Admittedly, we have had some good ones in the past. At the dawn of Independence, we had men who believed in this country; dedicated men who worked hard to build up the country; principled men who gave much and took home to their families their pay packet.

In stark contrast, our current leaders are all rich beyond measure. They have accumulated incredible wealth over a short period of time. They all drive big executive vehicles, live in mansions, send their children to schools abroad, seek medical care outside the country, have wives and children living in Australia, and they have fat bank accounts in other countries.

In the 2022 PNG National Elections, we will, again, have the opportunity to vote representatives to the national parliament. We must vote with our heads. We must not be persuaded by cash, clan, family, or any other consideration. We must deliberately vote for leaders who are honest and untainted by corruption.

The elections, I have no doubt, will throw up some good men and, hopefully women. It has always been hard to get good men and women to form a single group in parliament, owing to political party affiliations. This time, we need a core group of decent people to form a formidable force in parliament to keep an eye on the corrupt ones, with a view to referring them to the Ombudsman Commission and the Police Fraud Squad for prosecution under both the Leadership and Criminal codes.

In the long-term, we need to invest in our education system and in civil society organizations to grow future leaders with high standards of moral principles. Moreover, we need to invest in our families and schools to raise leaders who can serve the people of this country, without stealing from them.

If we all can accept that corruption is destroying our country, we can then do something about it.

If you know that your MP is stealing money from your district or province, please vote him out.

I am appealing to all policemen, PNGDF and CS officers, and electoral officials to comply with all laws and electoral regulations; to say no to bribes; to enforce the law; and to ensure that the 2022 elections are truly free and fair – so that the results represent the will of the voters!