By TAWIC NGALU
In the immediate aftermath of the MV Rabaul
Queens incident, Papua New
Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said
everything would be done to establish the cause of the accident.
"We will leave no stone unturned,"
he said.
"We cannot afford to continue to lose our people's lives. Sea
transport is one of the most important forms of transportation in the
country."
Whilst the fingers will immediately be
pointed at the shipping operator and government officials within the regulatory
bodies as being the main perpetrators – a fair chunk of the blame must fall
squarely on successive governments and society in general for allowing this to
happen again.
This incident yet again, highlights the
appalling inadequacies of our public service and the ingrained willingness of
officials from all levels of government to compromise public safety and well
being – of course for a “very, very” small fee – to bend the rules and continue
to award operating licenses and permits, enabling rogue operators to run amok,
and continue to ply their trade, with complete and utter disregard for the laws
of the land, sea and environment.
Successive governments have known of these
irregularities and malpractices within these regulatory organisations and of
rogue operators, but have continually failed to take heed, act on and take the
necessary measures, thus allowing these malpractices and corrupt acts to
flourish into the thriving industry that it now is.
The Prime Minister needs to be held true to
his word.
No stone must be left unturned - a comprehensive incident report must
be furnished within a specific time frame, complete with findings of investigations
into the dealings of operators and the regulatory bodies tasked with ensuring
the safety and wellbeing of the traveling public.
Recommendation for immediate remedial
actions must be implemented, and then a complete overhaul of corrupt systems
and processes, government officials and operators.
Based on the findings of the
report, an example must be made of all individuals, companies and organisations
found guilty of wrongdoing and non-compliance.
Legal proceedings must be
initiated and the maximum penalty exacted.
It is a sad fact of our society – where the
public debate and rhetoric is endless in the immediate aftermath of such a
tragedy, but lessons learnt are never taken to heart, in ensuring that
corrective remedial measures are implemented on the ground by the relevant
authorities to prevent a recurrence of such a tragedy.
The news media - print, radio and TV along
with social media network site Facebook and Twitter, is littered with
discussion threads on the tragic sinking of the MV Rabaul Queens. There are
numerous views and opinions and possibly good suggestions which sadly, in all
likelihood, will never get taken up and acted upon because of the indifference
that prevails – no one takes ownership.
There is an old adage “Evil triumphs when
good men do nothing” – and we collectively, as a people have been guilty on all
fronts. We continue to accept and tolerate substandard services with not a care
or whim. Our indifference, ignorance and cumulative non action have amounted to
the current state of affairs where deteriorating public services and
infrastructure is the accepted norm.
The legendary “Bonbon Ngara”, the sea serpent
of the Vitiaz Straits, the nemesis of all ancient mariners along the Huon Peninsula
has again reared its ugly head to claim yet another vessel and to mock our
collective incompetence.
Let not those lives be lost in vain- let it be the catalyst for change
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