By Dr Joseph Ketan

Most enlightened and functionally literate Papua New Guineans would, by now, have formed opinions on US presidents and Australian prime ministers. I grew up during the time of peanut farmer Jimmy Carter, second rate movie actor Ronald Reagan, and came of age during the time of Bill Clinton from Little Rock, Arkansas, and the black man with the Moslem name Barack Hussein Obama.  Donald Trump and Joe Biden, in my view, are clowns, reflecting a serious scarcity in leadership, with a corresponding decline of moral standards in America. Trump lied about having in his possession evidence of electoral fraud during the presidential election; Biden’s consistent lapses in memory and incoherent speeches makes US voters wonder whether they have made the right choice. 

In Australia, the first PM that I became familiar with was Gough Whitlam, the labour PM who granted PNG Independence. Paul Keating, later to become professor of politics at Sydney University, was a bit like our Peter O’Neill. He was finance minister under Bob Hawk, got impatient with his boss’s consensus style of governance, and replaced him, via internal Labour Party maneuvering. Then there was poor John Howard, who thought he was destined for greatness as longest serving PM alongside his hero Robert Menzies, and lost his seat to a female TV journalist from Sydney. Howard lost his own seat of Bennelong at the election to Maxine McKew.

In Papua New Guinea, we had the three pioneer prime ministers, Michael Somare, a teacher and radio journalists, businessman of Chinese heritage Julius Chan, and Hagen second year UPNG student Paias Wingti. The first structural public sector reform in PNG was introduced by Somare in 1977. Somare’s provincial government system was changed by Wingti and Chan in 1995, via introduction of governors and presidents, a reform that completely destroyed the accountability system of governance. A year before that, the economy was almost destroyed by devaluation of the kina and later by the floating of the kina.

Rabbie Namaliu appeared on the PNG political landscape when Somare needed bright educated Papua New Guineans. Namalie worked with Anthony Siaguru and Meg Taylor in the Chief Ministers Office in 1974 before joining the public service. He was clearly among the most learned of prime ministers in PNG history. His consensus style frustrated many from within PNG, but he won many friends via diplomacy. He served briefly after replacing Wingti in a vote of no confidence in 1988.

The next three prime ministers were the flamboyant and reckless Bill Skate who, under the guidance of an Iranian K7 million con man, almost destroyed state institutions through zero funding for NRI, NARI, and reduced funding for UPNG and other institutions. After the implosion of the Skate government in 1999, the reformist prime minister Mekere Morauta, a former Central Bank Governor, stepped in. Mekere passed several key legislations in quick succession, including the superannuation reforms, central bank and financial institution reforms, Integrity Bill aimed at strengthening political parties and the LPV system to improve the electoral system.

Peter O’Neill may well go down as the best prime minister, although his critics would argue that he borrowed recklessly, thereby putting the country at the mercy of lenders. James Marape has outdone Mr O’Neill in borrowing. At least Peter O’Neill spent money on important infrastructure. Mr Marape might be doing the same, but we have yet to see the evidence.

There are several ways to assess prime ministers. The first is the ability to get important pieces of legislation through parliament. The ability to meet with coalition government partners to agree on structural and policy reforms requires great skill. Sir Mekere Morauta stands out here. Lady Morauta told me that Sir Mekere discussed each reform legislation with key stakeholders privately before presenting it to Cabinet and parliament.

The second is in how to handle crises. Sir Rabbie Namaliu was prime minister during the Bougainville Crisis. He overreacted, initially, and was probably soft, later, when he needed to be tough. Chan mishandled it, which cost him dearly, via Gen Jerry Singirok-Major Walter Enuma engineered “Operation Rausim Kwik” involving the expulsion of Major Tim Spicer and his South African mercenaries from PNG in 1997.

The third is in the area of good governance. No prime minister has waged war on corruption. No prime minister has had the guts to get rid of the DSIP and other electoral development funds. No prime minister has gone after the big thieves in this country. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill appointed Sam Koim to weed out corruption, but then lost his nerve and got Operation Clean Sweep disbanded. Sir Mekere’s reforms led to the growth of the superannuation funds, and the growth of BSP, among other things.

On the economic front, no prime minister has been able to steer the country to economic growth, in a sustainable manner, whilst improving our basis social indicators. PNG has gone backwards on all fronts.

Under all prime ministers, the country suffered, with resources plundered, state funds stolen, and electoral fraud spread across the country.

There could be other ways to measure the performance of prime ministers. The obvious ones are in state functions: to protect citizens and their properties; to provide basic services; to provide conditions for people to freely wheel and deal in order to enrich themselves.

Corruption has almost totally destroyed this country. The actions of prime ministers can go a long way in either stopping or encouraging the growth and spread of this dreadful disease in our country.   

I would like to hear your thoughts on prime ministers of Papua New Guinea.