Powes Parkop makes smart strategic move to middle benches

By REGINALD RENAGI

 

Papua New Guinea parliamentary speaker's announcement early this year that National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop will now be sitting in the middle-benches has upset some people who have expressed their disappointment in the media in recent weeks.

 Parkop has lately been in the media expressing his views on a more-conciliatory manner of certain government decisions in parliament.   

 Parkop recently made a public media statement that PNG today lacks honest leadership and is both concerned and serious about PNG being provided with honest leadership in future. 

 A true measure of a successful government is for it to do everything in its power and influence to provide all required basic services and creating the right environment for its citizens to meaningfully participate in our country’s development; and in so doing, the people’s overall quality of life is greatly enhanced proportionally over time. 

This has not happened despite the promises at Independence in 1975 by those entrusted to protect the interests of our people and country. The early promises have become lies today as successive PNG administrations have badly let their people and country down for over three decades. 

Today, PNG has an uncaring regime pampering to big business and special interests while making many bad decisions that seriously affects our people today, and will make life hard for future generations.  

However, I see Governor Parkop’s actions as those of a creative strategist enhanced by a recent launching of his new political party.  As an independent MP, being in the middle benches is a smart deliberate move done not at the spur-of-the-moment, but carefully planned.  It is a clever strategic move for the governor as it better leverages Parkop's position to deliver what his constituents need or expects prior to the next polls in 2012. 

The governor’s new parliamentary seating plan is a refreshing sea-change.  It can have positive benefits for our capital city as well as for the whole country.  The middle bench gives Parkop the freedom he needs to constructively engage in debating important national issues without the constraints of being in opposition or government. 

Here, Parkop has choices: to abstain; support the opposition, or vote against the government on any issues according to his own better judgement without being unduly influenced to take a ‘pre-conceived’ position. 

Moreover, the middle-bench further allows a degree of flexibility to solicit government support for the governor’s capital city vision initiatives.  As a first-time MP, Parkop realises now that politics is about compromise for positive gains.  It is about meeting the other party half way for both to achieve its own development objectives whilst reaching a mutual ‘win-win’ outcome. 

As NCD governor, this concession may be denied him if he steadfastly remained with the opposition and kept constantly criticising the government for its perceived dalliances (whether real or imagined).  So by strategically working within the system, Parkop hopes to achieve much of his plans for our city before he faces city residents again at the polls. 

I see our middle-benchers not as whingers who have lost their marbles but intelligent MPs.  Well anyone can also say this of our opposition.  In fact, it comprises of some astute and independent-thinking MPs whose views and policies do not auger in parallel with both opposition and government. This can have positive benefits for the county as MPs here has the flexibility to see both sides of an issue under debate before making a more balanced input on proposed laws. 

On the other hand, the opposition needs to be more effective if it is to be considered the best since independence.  It should credibly demonstrate that it is the ‘alternative government’ and is up to the task of providing the kind of leadership needed in future. 

As the alternative government of PNG, the opposition must get better organised.  Its first essential function is to prepare itself for the day when (it hopes) it will become the government.  Its second function is to keep the government, its policies and its activities under keen and constant critical scrutiny. 

Today, PNG needs strong leadership by having a responsible and responsive government with an assertive opposition to make parliament an effective law-making body.  The country must have good honest leaders to ensure clean politics and a sense of fair –play practiced within parliament. 

To turn things around in PNG is to have several things in place at the same time. Any good government would by now carry out essential political reforms to improve good governance, being responsible, accountable and strictly adhere to the 'Rule of Law'.

Firstly, the leadership must force itself to be more disciplined, accountable and responsible in all its actions without lying about many things as has been the norm for some time now.  It is important that PNG now needs a strong no-nonsense party leader to better reorganise the current coalition government makeup by having good honest MPs in charge of key portfolios (I.e. A revitalised NEC).

Secondly, PNG must have an effective opposition to always keep the government on its toes.  The opposition must start employing effective strategies to ensure all its shadow Ministers are well-versed in their responsibilities to keep constant scrutiny of government actions and its decision-making process. 

Thirdly, parliament has been shirking its primary responsibility by poorly serving PNG’s national interests.  A parliament that compromises PNG’s national interests does not deserve the people’s support and vote at the polls.

Finally, the way ahead is for a more-effective leadership and a new team of committed social engineers who will have PNG’s best interests at heart to completely transform the people and this country.  Without pre-empting events ahead of time, given the right conditions and strategies employed now, it is not too far-fetched to imagine my capital city governor Powes Parkop to be a potential prime minister material in future. 

All NCD residents should now on give their full support to Governor Powes Parkop and his city hall team in their tireless efforts to make PNG's capital a clean, safe and healthy environment for all.