Papua New Guinea must have good leadership now

By REGINALD RENAGI

Many Papuan New Guineans would agree that despite its shortcomings in a lot of governance areas in recent times, it is probably not the best time to change the present government wholesale, but only change its leadership.

Many political observers here and abroad see our government as appearing incompetent and indecisive in recent years. 

The problem PNG has today is its weak and indecisive leadership.

PNG really deserves a better leadership now, and we don’t have the right leadership these past few years.

Today, the real problem with our government is it does not have a good ‘succession plan’ in place for many years.

Consequently, this has now been found most wanting in that the country is about to be thrown into a constitutional and leadership crisis. 

Moreover, the government will be hard-pressed to find the required quality leadership PNG desperately needs now from within the National Alliance party, or its NA coalition mix.

Right now, the government can't even find amongst itself, according to Francis Huluapmomi in a popular blog PNG Attitude "a highly intelligent and qualified politician who is able to strategically manoeuvre PNG in the age of globalisation and changing pattern in international politics to attain national objectives".  I agree.

That is why for years the ruling regime is still keeping the same driver in the driver's seat, despite its many mistakes.

It does this to keep covering up and making useless excuses for a leadership that is not only unsuitable, but now clearly ineffective to lead PNG in future.

There are still some good quality MPs sitting in the middle benches and in the parliamentary opposition to be made a part of a new and good government.

This whole thing may work if a proper regrouping is done immediately now within parliament.

We can keep the few good MPs in the coalition and merge them with the middle and the opposition to form a good government with experience and credibility.

A government that the citizens of PNG can wholly put their total trust in to protect our national interest.

Today, our people do not trust their government at all for all the broken promises since independence.

This is important and will give PNG a fairly good quality mixed government until the country goes to polls in 2012.

But there is a major snag here.  Who is going to take the lead? No, not Sam Abal.

And there is no one except for one MP in the current coalition party who has what it takes, to take this required leadership initiative in the national interest.

The deputy PM and acting PM is a nice quiet guy, but from all his public utterances so far since being in the job all indicates he is only warming the chair for the return of the real prime minister.

Hence, he will not be making any real solid commitments, one way or another.

The MP lacks the typical highlands' aggressiveness that former deputy PM, Don Polye has to be able to pull off such a spectacular stunt.

I studied leadership and strategy for over 30 years, and I can say here on record that Don Polye can make a good PM in a new-look government with a good team of political change agents.

This will no doubt move this country forward from its comatose state.

As far as I can see, Don Polye is no doubt the one political leader standing out to do something now about totally cleaning up the PNG government inherent corruption; as recently stated publicly that the government must directly tackle.

The problem PNG has today until the next elections in 2012 is that our government leadership lacks the guts to get its act together, and lead PNG as it should be led in the national interest.

So they colluded and sacrificed a very good deputy PM and potential future PM, Don Polye, for an MP who lacks the member for Kandep’s aggressiveness and drive to now ‘clean up the house’.

If we do not change the status quo now, PNG will still not have any real degree of a good competent government and parliament; until the 2012 national elections.

It’s all just a waste of the people’s time and resources to put up with the current nonsense and political bullshit for so long now.

But what choice do the people of PNG have, than to wait and silently suffer a few more months before they completely change the whole mob in 2012.

It’s time for a real change.

Reginald Renagi

Gabagaba-Kemabolo