Vision 2050 is flawed

By JAMES WANJIK

THE New York Times was very correct.

Its story "Papua New Guinea is little prepared for gas wealth" published October 26, 2010 made it clear that Waigani has no working knowledge of the national economy of our country.

Following e-mail communication with the New York Times I obtained a copy of ‘Endorsed Working Strategic Policy’ on Vision 2050.

The first two pillars are very badly approached.

First, the human development pillar has no linkage with the national goal on integral human development.

Besides, it does not propose solution to lack of human development in the last 35 years of independence.

Secondly, the wealth creation pillar identifies minerals on the economic power house of PNG but it has no solution.

We are actually being taken on same path of development in the last 35 years.

Role of advisers is to advise managers manage and leaders lead.

Vision 2050 has no leader.

Like Vision 2050 the national goals had no leader.

Were leaderless vision achieved anywhere in the world?

Certainly not.

We in PNG are lied to then by Vision 2050 advisors and consultants.

PNG people must be aware that advisers and consultants work for money.

They are not public servants.

No money, no work and vice versa.

Lot of truths are out but advisers and consultants of Vision 2050 did not expose them for Waigani and its bureaucrats to lead PNG to prosperity.

Here I expose some of the issues for the benefit of our people.

"1. Integral human development.

We declare our first goal to be for every person to be dynamically involved in the process of freeing himself or herself from every form of domination or oppression so that each man or woman will have the opportunity to develop as a whole person in relationship with others."

The goal was set at independence.

Thirty five years on we are still not aware what to do.

PNG leaders are money leaders.

They vilify our people for money.

That is why goal of integral human development was not achieved.

Money is the reason for Vision 2050.

The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) was to underpin Vision 2050.

Unfortunately, this is not reflected in the two pillars of human development and wealth creation.

Politicians will be nervous when people pose questions.

There are questions already in people's minds.

What we need to do is to jot their memories with history.

Be as it may, dare I say Vision 2050 is dead. This is why.

"5. Papua New Guinean ways

We declare our fifth goal to be to achieve development primarily through the use of Papua New Guinean forms of social, political and economic organization."

LNG is a foreign investment.

It is a money business.

Now LNG has made inflation go high.

In a very short time lives have been lost.

Sowing seed of discontent LNG proponents did not want to follow PNG law.

They wanted their way and not PNG way.

Our leaders obliged and changed our laws.

Now signs of discontent are appearing. LNG's contribution to Vision 2050 will be known then.

Now let us make some truths about PNG's resource development known.

LNG Project and other mineral projects which are of economic importance do not necessarily lead to human development.

Human development is the first national goal in our National Constitution.

 It is about whole person human development.

A person has body, heart, mind and spirit.

According to Steven Covey from USA, each of the components of a person has different function, need and attribute.

LNG and minerals can make money and money can buy basic necessity of the body like food, clothing and shelter.

Money cannot buy love and compassion only the heart gives.

 Money cannot buy vision and passion for service of fellow human person.

These are functions of the mind and spirit.

PNG has many mines.

These are operated by Western mining companies.

Panguna mine was the first.

It ended up causing environmental damage to land, river and way of life of people.

Ok Tedi mine was second.

 It has killed the Ok Tedi River and its environmental damage is going down into the Fly River.

Third is Misima mine.

It operated a deep sea tailings placement and closed shop in 2005.

Then Porgera mine came on.

It has environmental issue on the Strickland River and recently Amnesty International found human rights abuses by police when called in by the government to assist the mine maintain its presence.

Lihir is eating PNG minerals and funding activities of Newcrest mines of Australia.

And now we have Ramu mine with a first Chinese company as majority owner and project operator.

 It has been accused of human rights violations and an environmental law suit has been in court this year that has rocked it a bit.

Kutubu oil fields brought in a lot of money and nobody talks about it these days.

PNG is very vulnerable to manipulation and control by the miners.

Its leaders have been enlisted and disabled. Laws have been tampered with to suit the miners.

Regulations have been put in miners’ hand.

Vision 2050 will see PNG mortgaged to ExxonMobil as its base is the promised money from LNG.

We are racing against time set and dictated by ExxonMobil.

It is our country but we are not in charge.

James Wanjik

Papua New Guinea

27 October 2010

Shooting with verbiage

From JAMES WANJIK

VISION 2050 junta had been dethroned in July 2010 leadership games in government.

Vision is a dream written in few words.

Leaders envision and people set goals.

Vision 2050 is a death trap we are led to accept without question.

Rallying people support of a vision requires charisma.

Blaming and challenging public servants will not win people. Neither will agreements and communiques.

So what does Vision 2050 entail?

It is clear no worthy leader has waved green leaf marking peace after war.

Telling people to merely accept as given that by 2050 PNG will be smart, wise, fair, healthy and happy Vision 2050 adherents are reactionaries.

Vision is about plotting the future based on past and present situation.

Had we been told the truth we would not have been lied to, to accept Vision 2050.

Truth is PNG has not matched economic development underpinned by minerals with human development.

Vision 2050 has as its base potential proceeds from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) prospect.

LNG prospect was a mad rush as we know.

ExxonMobil did not want to follow our law so our laws were amended to suit ExxonMobil.

By linking Vision 2050 to the LNG prospect PNG is mortgaged to ExxonMobil.

Vision 2050 is totally a bad sin and a crime against our pride as a nation. It is verbiage with no truth.

May all good people rally against Vision 2050.

Waigani is lost with Vision 2050

By JAMES WANJIK

THE EDITORIAL "Vision 2050: All hands on deck" (Sunday Chronicle, Sunday, October 3, 2010 p. 14) was not an issue at all.

Vision 2050 is driven from the Prime Minister's Department.

It is driven by consultants and advisers who did little to nothing as Waigani bureaucrats.

National Planning has not been driving Vision 2050. So why point fingers at bystanders?

Ignoring truth will not help PNG.

Vision 2050 was a power tool for a particular leader.

Now that we have no leader owning Vision 2050 it will die a natural death.

Please stop the blame game on Vision 2050.

Public servants challenged to implement Vision 2050

By JOHN SAMAR

Acting Prime Minister Don Polye has challenged senior public servants to implement the Papua New Guinea Vision 2050. 

Mr Polye (centre) flanked by acting chief secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc (left)

He was addressing heads of departments and provincial administrators at a two-day meeting held at the Institute of Public Administration in Port Moresby on Wednesday Sept 29, 2010.

The meeting was held to discuss ways in which all departments and provincial governments can work together to align their national and provincial development plans to the PNG Vision 2050 Vision.

The PNG Vision 2050 wants to make PNG become a smart, wise, fair, healthy, and happy society by 2050.

To be able to reach these goals, PNG has to introduce universal basic education, increase its literacy rates, reduce deaths from TB and HIV AIDS, empower small PNG businessmen and women, and improve delivery of basic services such as health, education, banking, transport, communications and other services to the 89 districts throughout the country.

“The Papua New Guineans of tomorrow cannot do the job we have been given to do for them today for a smart, wise, fair, healthy and happy society by 2050,” Polye said.

 “Our generation’s welfare, my friends, is squarely in our hands, and we must take on the challenge and do what we have to do like we have never done before.”

Polye told the senior public servants that they should critically analyse and translate the meaning of Vision 2050 so that it has an impact on the lives of ordinary people in the rural villages of PNG.

Polye said once the senior public servants understood the needs of the ordinary villager, then they could produce appropriate plans to provide priority projects such as schools, aid posts, and small businesses to provide income for the rural villagers.

The acting Prime Minister said people in the rural areas needed roads and bridges to connect them to market places, and also need protection from criminals and natural disasters.

“However,” Polye said, “when it comes to what needs to be done first, and how , we should partner with them to implement their wishes , all of us need to sit down, and listen to them.

“In that regard, go out and sell Vision 2050, and make them own it as much as you do.”

Polye emphasised that senior public servants should use the proven performance management system put in place by the Department of Provincial and Local Level Government to ensure that implementation was effectively undertaken and monitored.

He called on senior public servants to combine their efforts with other agencies through a public-private partnership to benefit local communities resulting in synergistic benefits for everyone.

Addressing the same conference, acting chief secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc called on the departmental heads and provincial administrators to cooperate in aligning their development plans with Vision 2050.

He told the senior officers that without effective collaboration and consultation between all central agencies of government, efforts to co-ordinate and monitor implementation would not be achieved.

Zurenuoc encouraged all senior public servants to work together in unity in “improving the delivery of services to the people of Papua New Guinea, especially to those who live in our rural communities”.

The Central provincial government and the Department of Health briefed the meeting on how their respective organisations had aligned their development plans with PNG Vision 2050.

Central provincial administrator Raphael Yipmaramba told the meeting that his province had adopted the “bottom up” planning approach from the ward level to the provincial level and national level, while the financial resources were planned to flow “from top down”.

 Secretary for Health Dr. Clement Malau told the conference that his department was accountable to the 6.5 million stakeholders of PNG.

He added that his department also brought in experienced people from the provinces to assist in planning its corporate plan.

He said for the health plan to succeed, his department ensured that stakeholders took ownership, consulted widely, and also created a communications strategy to sell the plan to make sure “Health is everybody’s business”.

Dr Malau stressed that the Health Department’s plan also took a “bottom up” approach where all districts and provincial governments worked with the national government in drafting the10-year national health plan that was launched in Port Moresby last month.

The two-day meeting ended on Thursday, Sept 30, 2010.

A draft agreement called the ‘Waigani Conference Accord’ is being prepared by the secretariat of the PNG Vision 2050 development centre and will signed by the departmental heads and provincial administrators once it is completed.