Papua New Guinea, We’re stealing from OUR OWN SHELVES and destroying our own future and that of OUR OWN CHILDREN. This very BAD CULTURE IS ONE OF MANY THAT NEED TO BE ERADICATED if we are to progress as a nation. ITS A NATIONAL CONVERSATION THAT MUST START and unless there’s widespread awareness and consciousness to this EVIL and it’s devastating consequences, the eradication of this culture will be very difficult as it’s deeply entrenched now. – Hon. Lino Tom, MP.

NEW NORMAL-CASE IN POINT IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

By Dr Lino J. Tom MP, Minister for Health, Tuesday 3rd January 2023. This is an Asphalt Road as opposed to a Bitumen road and the Civil engineers will correct us but that’s beside the point. The Point is, ALMOST EVERYONE IS EARNING SOME SIDE-COINS apart from their pay. This behavior has become so ENTRENCHED in our Contemporary PNG Culture. It’s actually becoming the NEW NORMAL! From Tea Boy to Security Personal to highly sophisticated technical areas like road building, and sacred institutions like the judiciary, ‘almost’ everyone is involved now. This sickening look of EXPECTATION, when you front up in an office; the subtle gestures and implicit statements are telling and quite compelling. You know if you don’t lube the systems with some cash incentives, you’d be waiting for months for a transaction that’d have taken a few days. In fact, every department seem to have created their own systems involving tea-boys up to sectional heads. The sentinel foot soldiers are usually lower down civil servants who pretend to work and scout around recruiting vulnerable naïve potential victims. Every department seem to have their own SYNDICATES preying on ourselves. Unfortunately, we are all pawns being used by sinister bigger syndicates and puppet masters, who seem bemused seeing us fighting like dogs over bones whilst they sit comfortably at the table enjoying the real meal. Standards are compromised so we can EARN OUR SHARE at the expense of standards, quality and our national aspirations! We’re stealing from OUR OWN SHELVES and destroying our own future and that of OUR OWN CHILDREN! This very BAD CULTURE IS ONE OF MANY THAT NEED TO BE ERADICATED if we are to progress as a nation. ITS A NATIONAL CONVERSATION THAT MUST START and unless theres widespread awareness and consciousness to this EVIL and it’s devastating consequences, the eradication of this culture will be very difficult as it’s deeply entrenched now. Sir Mekere saw it clearly and remarked that CORRUPTION HAS BECOME SYSTEMIC AND SYSTEMATIC! It’s the cancer that’s eating out the very life of our nation. The endgame of cancer is the DEATH of its HOIST. Our nation is at the crossroads and we it’s people will have to rise up to stop this malignant disease that’s eating out the very fabrics of our young nation and it’s institutions!