2008 PNG Political Review

The year 2008 began on a high note with a State visit by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd from 6-7th March, heralding the dawn of a new era between Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Australia after almost four years of diplomatic friction which began in 2005 when PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare had to go through three security checks and had his sandals removed at the Brisbane airport by airport security personnel. The Australian government refused to apologize on the incident calling it a cultural misunderstanding of PNG’s “big man” culture with Australian norms and security procedures. This sparked public protests in Port Moresby with the PNG Department of Foreign Affairs summoning the Australian Ambassador Michael Potts.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries was strained further when in 2006 the international fugitive Julian Moti was spirited out of Port Moresby to Solomon Islands in a clandestine operation on a PNG Defence Force aircraft. The Australian government retaliated by banning PNG politicians from entering Australia. These incidents triggered the deterioration of PNG’s relations with Australia.

Rudd’s trip to PNG is a first such visit of an Australian prime minister in eleven years and was well received by PNG to rejuvenate its relations with Australia. The visit culminated in PNG and Australia signing a forest carbon partnership where both countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation.

Following his meeting with Sir Michael, Rudd released a declaration titled the Port Moresby Declaration, which underlines his commitment to a new era of cooperation with PNG and other Pacific Island countries. The 20-point declaration outlines Australia’s plans for economic growth across the Pacific and progress towards the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, pursue the Pacific partnership for development, work together on climate change and contribute to education and training. (The National, 7 March 2008).

On September 16, the country celebrated its thirty three years of political independence as a thriving democracy consisting of multiple ethnic groups with over 800 different languages - a feat rarely seen in most multi-ethnic States in the region. To commemorate the independence anniversary the Somare government launched the first government-owned National Television Station (NTS) on independence day signifying a monumental development in PNG’s broadcasting history.

Most notably, it was a significant year for Sir Michael, the current and founding prime minister, as he celebrated his 40th anniversary in PNG politics making him the only prime minister in the Commonwealth that has served the longest term in politics (1968-2008).

More so, Somare becomes the first prime minister in PNG’s political history that has survived a full term in office (2002-2007) and seems likely to make it through a second term (2008-2012) thereby scoring another historical first. This is in spite of the numerous affirmations that he will retire from politics before his term expires. PNG’s political history is one that has been plagued by numerous votes of no confidence and no prime minister since independence in 1975 has been able to survive a full term of five years in office until recently.

However, Somare’s celebrated longevity in politics did not come on a clean slate as in June he was confronted with a referral from the PNG Ombudsman Commission, a political watchdog and institution which he helped created, to face the public prosecutor for alleged misconduct in office.

Somare was investigated over allegations that he failed to file his annual returns, submitted incomplete returns, or submitted the returns late between 1996 and 2005. This is the first time since the Leadership Code was enacted for a PNG prime minister to be referred for prosecution on misconduct charges. The then Chief Ombudsman Ila Geno stated that the referral is based on section 4 of the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership, which requires leaders to furnish to the Ombudsman Commission their annual statements every twelve months while in office (The National, 27 June 2008).

Another blow to Somare’s reputation came in November when an Australian newspaper reported that he bought a A$395,000 (K692,000) three-bedroom apartment, with a private plunge pool in inner-city Cairns in April 2007, in a deal brokered by a Gold Coast lawyer, while two months ago, his son Arthur bought a A$685,000 (K1.2 million) four-bedroom home with his wife at Trinity Beach, just north of Cairns. Arthur Somare denied any suggestion of wrongdoing in the purchase of his property, explaining that it was to accommodate his children studying in Australia. The Ombudsman Commission legal counsel Vergil Narokobi said that the Ombudsman Commission would investigate but it is quite possible that it is legitimate (The National, 7 November 2008).

Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta said that the Somares owed it to the PNG people to reveal their assets and should publicly explain how they obtained the real estate. Sir Mekere, who in the same year bought a A$3.6 million (K6.3 million) riverfront mansion at New Farm in Brisbane’s inner city under his wife Roslyn’s name.

In another controversial case the prime minister allegedly did not declare his shareholding in the company Pacific Registry of Ships Ltd. The official registry showed that Sir Michael is a shareholder “in trust for the Independent State of PNG”.

All these allegations have contributed to undermine Sir Michael’s achievements in his political career and his symbolic figure as the “father of the nation”. Sir Michael will need to accomplish something more significant apart from revitalizing PNG’s economy to buy back people’s trust that he is a selfless leader.

As a major setback the ruling National Alliance Party lost a number of winning candidates through election petitions filed after the 2007 general elections. The first setback came on 23 April when East Sepik Governor Peter Wararu lost his seat to a K50 (US$19) bribe he gave to a voter. This resulted from an election petition filed by contender and runner-up candidate Gabriel Dusava.

On 21 February, the National Court voided the election of the Minister for Education Michael Laimo, a National Alliance Party candidate. Laimo lost his parliamentary seat due to irregularities and illegal practices committed during the 2007 national elections. Steven Kami, a New Generation Party candidate challenged the election result on the grounds that there were gross errors and omissions and illegal practices by Electoral Commission officials (The National, 22 February 2008).

On 11 September, the former Chief Justice and Madang Governor Sir Arnold Amet, was ousted from his seat by an election petition filed by businessman and former politician Peter Yama. Comments made by Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare during the 2007 election campaign urging voters not to vote for polygamists and people of shady character have led the court to rule in favour of Yama, who apparently has three wives (The National, 12 September 2008).

In an election petition against elected Western Highlands Governor Tom Olga, former prime minister and 2007 election contender Paias Wingti made a submission to the court for a recount of votes on alleged errors and omissions committed by Electoral Commission officials during the polling and counting of votes that affected the results of the provincial seat. He won a recount of all provincial ballot papers in March 2008. After a recount of votes there were gross anomalies and omissions by electoral officers which resulted in the court declaring the election of Governor Tom Olga null and void.

In what could have been a related incident the Western Highlands provincial headquarters known as Kapal Haus was completely destroyed by fire on 22 October 2008. It was believed that supporters of one of the candidates were responsible for the burning down of the building.

The Autonomous Region of Bougainville also lost its founding president Joseph Kabui on 5 June 2008 to a suspected heart attack. Kabui played an instrumental role at the height of the Bougainville crisis and in the peace building and reconciliation process. James Tanis, a former separatist, was elected president of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville on December 28. Tanis beat 13 other contenders for the post left vacant by the death of Joseph Kabui. A new chapter in Bougainville’s history was created when in April the National Government and the Autonomous Bougainville Government signed an understanding on the transfer mining, oil and gas functions to the Bougainville government.

In terms of its economy PNG is experiencing a period of significant economic expansion since independence. This remarkable growth in the economy can be attributed primarily to the stable political climate bolstered by the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) and the government’s receptiveness to foreign investment and competition in some of the key sectors of the economy such as mining, construction, and telecommunications.

Economic growth has accelerated in 2008 to 6.6% and is expected to reach 7% in 2009 and is likely to remain on solid grounds, potentially above 5% per annum, for the next few years (Post Courier, Independence Magazine 2008, p.7-8).

According to the World Bank, PNG in the past five years has seen the longest period of uninterrupted growth since independence in 1975. World Bank’s half yearly assessment of East Asian and Pacific economies indicated that PNG’s gross domestic product rose by around 6% in 2007, the highest real economic growth rate in the past decade. Formal employment across most sectors has been growing by about 10% annually since 2005. This growth was led by construction, telecommunications and export-oriented agriculture (coffee, copra and palm oil) and mining (The National, April 2, 2008).

While giving a strong tick to PNG’s economic performance on most fronts, the World Bank stated that despite a comfortable macro-fiscal position, significant structural and policy challenges limit its long term growth potential. In order to stimulate private investment, particularly outside the mining sector, the critical priority was the improvement in the business climate, especially through the opening of more markets to competition.

Mobile connectivity between two of the rival telecommunication companies, the government-owned Telikom PNG and the Irish company Digicel dominated the early part of the year with interconnection issues and tussles over the rights for the international gateway.

On 16 April, the government used its numerical strength to pass amendments to the Telecommunication Act effectively removing the international gateway enjoyed by Digicel. The Minister for Information and Communication Patrick Tammur introduced the amendments for the State-owned Telikom PNG as the only licensed general carrier effectively making Telikom PNG owning and controlling the international gateway.

Opposition leader Sir Mekere Morauta said that there was no justification in the so-called staged competition and that it will not benefit the people and will take away private companies’ rights. It will also create a monopoly for Telikom PNG. After several months of delay and frustration from customers, interconnection between Telikom PNG and Digicel finally came to fruition on 26 June 2008.

According to the 2007 Information and Communication Technologies Opportunities Index (ICT OI) of the World Information Society Report 2007 published jointly by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), PNG ranks poorly on an international benchmark report on the access and use of information and communication technologies (ICT), which includes mobile telephony, fixed landline phones and internet. It ranks 162 out of 183 countries (The National, 2 April 2008). The PNG government will need to allow more competition in the telecommunication industry and relax its stringent ICT policy to reverse the report’s ranking of PNG.

There were also a number of significant developments in the mining industry. In early February the Emperor Mines officially handed over the Tolukuma Gold Mine to the State company Petromin Holdings Ltd in a ceremony held at the mine site. It was the first time in the history of PNG that a State company bought 100% of a gold producing mining concern (The National, 22 February 2008).

One of the biggest and most promising projects in PNG’s mining industry that got a head start is the project on the liquefied natural gas (LNG). The LNG project will become the biggest mineral resource extraction PNG has seen since independence and will be the third largest LNG development project in the world. The PNG parliament in October passed nine amendments to the Oil and Gas Act that will, among others, provide tax concession during construction of the US$10 billion LNG project.

The LNG project under ExxonMobil is projected to produce 6.3 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas. With Asia likely to be the main market, the first sales of LNG are expected to occur in late 2013 or early 2014. The project development comprises the upstream infrastructure including production wells, processing facilities and a network of gas and liquid pipelines linking the wells to the facilities and to the main export gas pipeline. Other developments include the gas pipeline from the highlands to the LNG plant location just outside of Port Moresby, the LNG facility, export loading and other support facilities located near Port Moresby (The National, 2 April 2008).

The PNG government created greater certainty in the LNG project after concluding the financing agreement for A$1.68 billion (K3 billion) to fully finance its 19.4% equity in the massive project. The finalization of the transaction will see the International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC), wholly-owned by the Abu Dhabi government in the United Arab Emirates; acquire exchangeable bonds over the PNG government’s 17.6% shareholding in Oil Search. This would enable the State to receive a principal amount of A$1,681 million from IPIC, which would be placed in an escrow account that could only be drawn down for specified purposes related to the project (The National, 26 November 2008).

In a bid to control the State’s equity the State’s resource company Petromin Holdings took a court action to take control of the State’s Oil Search shares given to the Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) where the prime minister’s son Arthur Somare is the Minister.

However, Petromin Holdings withdrew the case after its board was threatened with a sack. The National Planning Minister Paul Tiensten slammed the legal challenge launched by Petromin Holdings against IPBC as the State’s nominee for the multi-billion dollar LNG project (The National, 14 November 2008). The Parliament passed legislation to shut Petromin Holdings out completely and, in turn, empowered the IPBC as the State nominee to sign the deal with IPIC.

The PNG government plans to keep proceeds from its direct equity participation in the ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG project in a trust account outside of the budget. These funds would be used on development projects in line with the government’s long-term development strategy (LTDS) (The National, 3 December 2008).

In an unprecedented move in April, Isaac Lupari, the Chief Secretary to the Government, was sacked after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Madang Province. Minister for Public Service Peter O’Neil said that the move was “in the best interest of the state” and to move the country forward. Lupari was brought over from Brussels where he served as the PNG Ambassador to the European Union (EU) to replace Joshua Kalinoe as Chief Secretary.

The removal of Lupari angered the Highlands Members of Parliament (MPs) where the Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru commented that the NEC decision was a slap in the face of highlanders (The National, 29 April 2008). The government announced that it will bring legislations in the July session of Parliament to abolish the Office of Chief Secretary and the Central Agencies Coordinating Committee (CACC). The Government has started the process with the creation of ministerial sectoral committees in a proposed restructure following the dismissal of the Chief Secretary (The National, 30 May 2008).

The public service was also beset by a number of problems. In early April, the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry looking into the Finance Department, Maurice Sheehan, announced that it was ready to look into files concerning settlements against the State worth millions of PNG kina.

Among the files was the Chief Secretary to the Government Isaac Lupari’s claim against the State for breach of contract when he served as the head of various government departments. The Commission of Inquiry looking into the cases of financial mismanagement and corruption at the Finance Department has on a number of occasions come to a standstill supposedly because of lack of funds. Complaints were made that the commission had been sitting on the inquiry and yet were being paid hefty fees without any inquiry reports for the last three years.

The Commission of Inquiry was set up to look into the Finance Department’s payouts involving millions of kina made to claimants between Jan 1, 2000, and July 31, 2006. The inquiry revealed that the Government could have saved K63.46 million in payouts resulting in “deeds of release” and another K15.71 million under “default judgment” payouts. However, due to settlements allegedly made out of the court processes eventuating as “deeds of release”, totaling K63.46 million was settled between the claimants and the State Solicitor’s office in various payouts recorded in the department’s cash book (The National, 30 September 2008).

In a startling revelation early in February, National Planning Minister Paul Tiensten alleged that officers in Vulupindi Haus, the building that houses his department, were asking for 10% commission before processing cheques and payments. He said that this 10% cheque processing syndicate was operating within the three departments – National Planning and Rural Development, Finance and Treasury - implying that officers in the departments were involved (The National, 22 February 2008).

Tiensten also stated that more than K3 billion is sitting idle in trust accounts in Waigani. The money is from the 2006 and 2007 supplementary budgets and K2.3 billion were still in trust accounts to be spent and another K1.1 billion of the appropriated funds would be released into trust accounts. The trust accounts are managed by respective departmental heads. Despite all these mechanisms to facilitate a smooth and expedient implementation of the programs, only 10% had been drawn down and expended to date. Tiensten argued that the system and bureaucracy continue to fail the Government (The National, 9 January 2008).

The bureaucracy as the government’s goods and services delivery mechanism came under severe attack from the government. The national government described the bureaucracy’s failure in the implementation of budgeted government priority programs as a “real nightmare”. Government priority programs in education, health, law and order worth millions of kina have been rolled over a number of years because of non-implementation that was now a cause for concern. This follows criticisms from the wide spectrum of society of government boasting economic boom and budget surpluses that is not reaching the simple people. Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare said appropriations have been made in the budget and the problem was with lack of implementation by the civil servants (The National, 7 February 2008).

Towards the end of the year the bureaucracy came under another stinging attack but this time it was from the University of Vudal Vice Chancellor Professor Philip Siaguru. During a graduation ceremony he lamented that the Chinese government-funded K23 million (US$8.6 million) student dormitories and staff houses have not been occupied because the PNG government had not reciprocated by releasing K1.2 million (US$450,000) for beds and wardrobes for the dormitories. And he had been given a merry-go-round by the departments of National Planning and Treasury since March. He said that the problem lies in the corridors of Vulupindi Haus (The National, 1 December 2008).

In July the Post Courier reported that US$40 million was held in a bank account in Singapore. The newspaper alleged that 2.1% in log exports were accumulating in this account, kept by a minister, since 2002. The Opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta called on the government to investigate the allegations saying that the allegations, if true, represented “the most serious case of corruption that has come to light to date”. Sir Mekere said that it is the most serious in terms of the scale of the money involved, and the alleged method and if the allegations are true, they also demonstrate that corruption has been institutionalized; it is systemic and systematic. He added that if the allegations are true, they show that senior members of the Government are using State institutions for personal gain (The National, 3 July 2008).

Another scandal of similar magnitude was the reported US$30 million (K85 million) Taiwan dollar diplomacy. The Post Courier first reported in May that six Papua New Guineans allegedly received money from two Taiwanese middlemen and that the National Planning Minister Paul Tiensten who was then Acting Foreign Affairs Minister allegedly signed a draft communiqué for PNG to set up “full diplomatic relations” with Taiwan in September 2006 in Port Moresby.

Nawaeb MP Timothy Bonga, currently the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee who was the Eda Ranu chairman at the time met with Taiwanese vice premier Chiou-I-Jen in 2006. It was alleged that Bonga and former chairman of Telikom PNG Ltd and lawyer Florian Gubon allegedly negotiated with Taipei for diplomatic recognition at the price of US$30 million. Gubon received $220,000 from the Taiwan government for travel costs for a delegation to Taipei and told Post Courier that the money was deposited into his account by an aide to Taiwan Foreign Minister James Huang (The Australian Online).

PNG however continues to recognize Beijing and the One China policy as it has done since Independence in 1975. Meanwhile, the Opposition and Transparency International (PNG) Chapter has condemned the actions of those involved and are seeking assistance to establish the truth. PNG also lost one of the staunch fighters of corruption, the Transparency International PNG Chapter chairman Mike Manning who died of a heart attack. Manning is replaced by TI PNG Board of Director Peter Aitsi as the new chairman.

In September, the Member for North-Waghi Benjamin Mul argued that the K2,017 (US$750) salary that Members of Parliament (MPs) receive was not enough to support their families and at the same time entertain people who asked for money (The National, 22 September 2008). Earlier in the year the Sumkar MP Ken Fairweather appealed to the public highlighting the financial plight of parliamentarians as a result of dishing handouts to ‘bubus’ and the tribal entourage.

The PNG Trade Union Congress (PNGTUC) General Secretary John Paska slammed the moves to increase parliamentary wages and allowances saying that this was the most “putrid and irresponsible” statement coming out of Parliament when most ordinary citizens are suffering from high cost of goods and services.

Meanwhile, the PNGTUC has been pushing for an increase in minimum wages for workers. The PNGTUC said that the current minimum wage of K37.20 (US$14) per week is grossly inadequate, with minimum wage workers and their families struggling to make a living. Most minimum wage earners cannot afford education and healthcare for their children due to a lack of adequate information on how a family needs to spend on goods and services, as well as raising and educating their children. With the cost of living having increased dramatically since then, the PNGTUC is proposing to the 2008 board for the minimum wage to be set at K120.00 (US$45) per week or K240.00 (US$90) per fortnight, a K40 (US$15) increase to that proposed by the government (The National, 18 December 2008).

Despite some affirmative action including the modification of electoral laws specifically the OLIPPAC in which 75 percent of K10,000 (US$3,800) is reimbursed to the political party where a woman candidate obtains 10% of votes cast in the electorate in that election, as an incentive for political parties to nominate women candidates, women’s representation in parliament has not changed any better.

Since independence in 1975 there have only been three women that have managed to win a seat in parliament. Currently, the only woman parliamentarian Dame Carol Kidu, the wife of the late Chief Justice Sir Buri Kidu, is pushing for greater representation of the womenfolk in parliament.

The parliament recently endorsed a submission by Dame Kidu, the Minister for Community Development, to bring three women into parliament by 2009 by using an amended constitutional provision for nominated seats. This will be the first time in the history of PNG to have nominated women representatives on the floor of parliament. However, Professor John Nonggorr, a constitutional lawyer, criticized the move saying that there were serious constitutional flaws and this can be illegal and challenged as discrimination based on sex (Post Courier, 22 January 2009).

In a report, Ray Anere, a senior researcher at the National Research Institute commented that the new limited preferential voting (LPV) system did not fail women candidates in the 2007 general election but rather it was the political culture and individual women candidate’s popularity that were among the factors responsible for the low level of success among the women candidates (The National, 9 November 2008).

The OLLIPAC was also challenged by the Western Province Governor Bob Danaya claiming that the law restricted and impinged on the conscience of MPs from freely exercising their rights. The three crucial issues related to the law are: (i) restricting the ability of an MP from exercising his vote in parliament; (ii) preventing an MP from resigning from a political party and; (iii) preventing an MP from exercising his vote in accordance with his conscience and in the interests of his constituents (The National, 11 November 2008).

The integrity law was introduced by the Morauta government in 2003 to promote stability on the floor of parliament. However, certain provisions dealing with the rights and conscience of elected MPs were restricted because they need to work along party lines.

In what may be a surprise to some who hold the view that political parties and candidates should not accept external funding as they can be influenced by big businesses and corporations, the Director of Funding and Disclosure of the Office of the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (IPPC) John Bishop, while speaking at a People’s Party convention revealed that according to the OLLIPAC companies can fund political parties and that companies and individuals should not be afraid to donate money to support political parties (The National, 29 April 2008).

In August, PNG finally was given the opportunity to participate in the Pacific seasonal workers’ scheme. Under the scheme up to 2500 workers from Kiribati, PNG, Tonga and Vanuatu will participate in the three-year pilot and work up to seven months in the horticulture industry. Australia’s pilot scheme also includes PNG and the Australian and PNG governments will work together to strengthen labour-sending arrangements to facilitate PNG’s inclusion of workers.

PNG’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Abal and his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith also announced the renaming of the Enhanced Cooperation Program (ECP) to Strongim Gavman project (SGP). This is the non-policing component where Australian advisers are seconded to PNG government departments. They made the announcement at the closure of the PNG-Australia Ministerial Forum in Madang. At the same occasion the National Planning Minister Paul Tiensten announced the Long Term Development Plan. It would be a 20-year plan that would incorporate the five year medium term plans. The plan would run from 2010 to 2030 and would stress economic independence, economic growth by 10% and higher quality education (The National, 24 April 2008).

In November, PNG hosted the 16th Africa Caribbean Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) joint parliamentary assembly held in Port Moresby on 17-28th November. In the same month most of the coastal and island provinces were hit by rising sea tides as a result of La Nina. Reports of damages caused by sea swells came in from the provinces of Sandaun, East Sepik, Manus, New Ireland, Bougainville and Morobe. The government immediately came in with a K50 million (US$19 million) relief to assist the disaster stricken provinces.

In its 2008 report, the international human rights group Amnesty International described PNG as having high levels of crime and its police having neither the ability nor the will to guarantee security to its public (The National, 30 May 2008). This was further corroborated by a Washington D.C. Foreign Policy publication in September that Port Moresby is among the top five murder capitals of the world. The PNG Police Commissioner Gary Baki was quick to rebut these statements, which drew little support from the public in light of the increasing crime in the nation’s capital.

Many unanswered questions still remain concerning the major scandals and the government’s perpetual denial and sluggishness in investigating and prosecuting those involved. These scandals include the US$30 million Taiwan dollar diplomacy, US$40 million on log exports in a Singapore bank account, the Julian Moti clandestine escape in 2006 and the long list of files involving millions of kina payouts that the Commission of Inquiry is yet to lay any charges on those found to have breached the laws. These cases, if unresolved, will continue to haunt the Somare government even long after Sir Michael is retired from the political scene.


References

The National. Daily. Port Moresby

Post Courier. Daily. Port Moresby

Post Courier. Independence Magazine 2008

The Australian Online

Forgot username and password

I have at many instances forgot my own blog username and password. I've been trying to get in countless times until I finally remembered my username. Well, I don't know if that is the beginning of memory loss or too much work...may be both. Hope that this time I'll be more considerate of what I type to log in.

Can PNG learn from the US presidential election?

In Port Moresby one can easily spot a bumper sticker with the name of the U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. The celebrity politician, as his Republican opponent John McCain called him, probably already has a huge following in PNG. Ask any ordinary taxi driver and he knows something about Barack Obama. Why is it that a lot of people, as evident on bumper stickers, are closely following the presidential election in the United States unlike in the past?

The United States presidential election of 2008 is scheduled for Tuesday November 4, 2008 and will be the 56th consecutive quadrennial United States presidential election. On that day people around the world would be sitting in front of their television sets to see the results of the election.

The Republican Party has chosen John McCain, the senior United States Senator from the state of Arizona as its nominee and the Democratic Party has chosen Barack Obama, the junior United States Senator from Illinois.

The 2008 election is particularly notable because it is the first time in U.S. history that two sitting senators will run against each other for president, and because it is the first time an African American is a presidential nominee for a major party, as well as the first time both major candidates were born outside the continental United States—Hawaii for Obama and the Panama Canal Zone for McCain.

With African American candidate Barack Obama, who is of mixed African and Caucasian parentage, as the Democratic Party nominee for President and John McCain's selection of female Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican Party nominee for Vice-President, the eventual winning ticket is very likely to have a historic context, as either the first African American will be elected President along with the first Roman Catholic as Vice President or the oldest President will be elected with the first woman Vice President. It might also be historic that if Barack Obama is elected he would be the first black president in a Western superpower nation.

Whilst the U.S. presidential election does not have any relevance whatsoever to PNG and will not affect PNG in anyway, it does have useful lessons that PNG can learn from and emulate to improve its system of governance, conduct of elections and the electability of political aspirants.

The U.S. system of government and electoral process has evolved over two centuries compared to PNG with only 33 years of political independence. A presidential system of government is different from a Westminster system such as PNG as the president is directly elected by the people whereas in our parliamentary system the political party that wins the highest number of seats is invited by the Governor General to form the government and typically the party leader becomes the Prime Minister. This in a way, as argued by some political scientists, makes the Prime Minister less accountable to the people compared to a presidential system.

The issue that I am particularly keen on is that of the debate surrounding the character, judgment and experience of the two U.S. presidential candidates and which is more capable of leading the United States as the next president. This is a decision to be made by the American people. Nonetheless, there is merit that character, judgment and experience are important qualities of leadership that we can extrapolate when looking at PNG as these are rarely or even hardly a measure of capable leadership in our politics.

One of the interesting characteristics of the U.S. presidential election is that a presidential candidate is thoroughly scrutinized usually by the media from their early childhood to their current occupation. One reason behind this process is that the life experiences of a candidate shapes their character and can impact on how the person makes important decisions when they assume public office.

It will be interesting to see the media in PNG play a similar role and be more vigorous and participative in the electoral process as the examination of candidates will allow voters to be better informed of the candidates’ leadership capability. When voters are better informed of a candidate’s history which includes their character and experience, this can guide them in making appropriate choices and deviate from the conventional tribal, ethnic and personal lineage that all too often shape voter choices in our society.

An extraordinary example that defied the electoral norms of our society was the election of the NCD Governor Powes Parkop. If an opinion poll or survey was conducted it would validate that Governor Parkop was elected solely on merit and not by affiliation to a particular ethnic group. It would require an electorate in PNG to be as diverse and perhaps “well informed” as NCD to replicate the same result in future elections.

More so, a thorough coverage of candidates and their policies by the media promotes transparency as one of the fundamental cornerstones of a democratic society. It also holds leaders accountable to their voters when their promises and policies are widely publicized.

The three U.S. presidential debates focused on numerous issues such as abortion, health care, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, medicare and social security, globalization and free trade, taxes, gun control, immigration, energy, same-sex marriage, Iran and China. These are very diverse national and international issues that the next president of the United States will have to deal with when inaugurated on January 20, 2009.

Debates have proven to be a useful arena where the leadership capability of political leaders is tested. As possible candidates for Prime Minister, the party leaders of PNG’s political parties should be invited to such a forum organized by institutions like the universities where they can sell their policies to voters. It should be mandatory to have prime ministerial debates akin to presidential debates for voters like “Joe the Buai Seller” to have the opportunity to interrogate political candidates on how policies on the informal sector or eviction of squatter settlers will affect them.

Debates will show voters the intellect, knowledge and experience of political candidates on issues affecting the people. The candidates should at least have some understanding of critical issues that affect not only their immediate constituency but PNG as a whole.

There is a huge contrast between PNG and the United States on issues of national and international significance but in the 21st century global issues are increasingly becoming important and affect all countries irrespective of their First World-Third World status. In this globalization age climate change and climate refugees, carbon trading, poverty, international trade, illegal migrants, regional conflicts, international terrorism, transnational crime, international financial crisis and China’s preponderance in the region are some of the issues that require multilateral solutions and compel an international obligation and cooperation on the part of PNG. Our leaders will also have to be well versed with these issues to effectively deal with them and represent the country in international forums.

The media in PNG will need to play a more vigorous role in shaping our electoral process and strengthen the fundamentals of our democracy. Political processes such as elections will need to mature to allow PNG to embrace good and effective governance, and this will require a transformation of how we conduct elections and decide who we vote into parliament.

A Disastrous Day

Well, it was one of those many occasions that I dread. Yes, Eda Ranu, the state-owned company that is responsible for the provision of water to the city has AGAIN closed the main taps feeding the city and once again we have no water to cook, shower and use the restroom. This time they advertised in the papers but it was a very small advert that many people can easily miss when reading the papers. In the advert it says that they will be shutting the valve at 8.00am and open the valve at 6pm. Well, guess what, they shut the thing down at 6am instead of 8 and water returned to the households at 11pm in the night.

The usual frustrations were that I didn't have a proper shower in the morning and in the night. Damn it! Now it makes me angrier everytime even at times I wish I could take that company to court for the distress they cause to the public. Have they ever thought of having reservoir tanks that would supply the city in the event of a major maintenance or pipe leakage? I wonder when PNG would start operating as a country!

Migration Overview presentation

I gave the first of the Migration Overview presentation yesterday to 13 immigration officers. This is the first of the core competency training modules. In fact i wasn't really satisfied with how I gave the presentation. Will improve on the style with more confidence in the next presentation to the directors

Well I was feeling really tired on Monday after spending the previous night at Cheng's haus krai. It wasn't a really good day for me. I finished at 5pm, caught the bus and went home. Spent the night at the haus krai. Saliau was there with his passport application forms. The folks from Tahira came and left their Suzuki at the house. Andrew Hamba came around as well.

Finally I found my password

Well, I haven't visited my blog for like 8/9 months. This was because I couldn't remember my password and finally on this day I managed to log in when I typed the correct password. Anyways, I hope from time to time I'll be writing again and contribute some new ideas instead of just journals.

Sept 19-21

A number of events occured over the weekend. Ezekiel and Ricky visited me at Gerehu on Saturday as Ezekiel wanted to do some work on my lap top. We had a bbq and some drinks and didn't really behave in our best that evening. I was really drunk and was shouting, Ezekiel and Ricky threatened Thompson, the guy who provided info on my stolen washing machine. Enid got really upset of the commotion we created.

Later that night we received the tragic news that Chengs (Vincent Hampalekie) passed away in Madang. Jack came down and was calling for me at the gate but I was dead asleep. Enid woke me and told me and the two of us went up to see Oliver/Elsie and the family.

That was one of the worst weekends of my life. Got drunk and stupid and received the tragic news of Cheng's passing. RIP Chengs, we will surely miss you and your lively and humourous character.