Painting the town red
1 year ago
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Happy Birthday PNG
With September 16th fast approaching, PNG readies to celebrate 34 years of independence.
A sobering thought isn't it that over that long a period we should be able to say we've travelled well, that the wealth of the natural resources we so insistently tell the world is our ticket to assured prosperity should be evident in all our institutions, our human resource and standard of living.
Singapore has been able to achieve astounding success with nothing but their intellect, Australia has progressed as an island state to sit at the G7 table of elite economies and even Fiji with all its socio/political problems still woos the tourism dollar, far superior to that which we are able to muster.
Our political masters would have us think we are in the drivers seat when we discuss our economic future but the question is now being asked, who's measuring stick are we using to guage our progress.
It would an interesting discussion but don't you think.
When our Ministers of State admit the departments they oversee are unable to deliver the most rudimentary of services expected of them, where a quagmire of public or project funds become so muddled that everyone simply ingores the confusion pretending it will simply go away, Where the PM has to go to Malaysia to seek medical attention and coruption becomes a throwaway line for the tabloids, comentators and foreign correspondents. The question we have to ask ourselves is when is enough really enough.
The next several weeks and indeed the next several months will be intersting times for our country. The message that we receive every year around this time revolve around progress and how far we have come since 1975. I think the jury came in a long time ago on that one and the answer was "not very far".
At the end of the day, we still have to live and survive here, but how we live and survive tomorrow depends on what our attitude for the future of our country is today.
A sobering thought isn't it that over that long a period we should be able to say we've travelled well, that the wealth of the natural resources we so insistently tell the world is our ticket to assured prosperity should be evident in all our institutions, our human resource and standard of living.
Singapore has been able to achieve astounding success with nothing but their intellect, Australia has progressed as an island state to sit at the G7 table of elite economies and even Fiji with all its socio/political problems still woos the tourism dollar, far superior to that which we are able to muster.
Our political masters would have us think we are in the drivers seat when we discuss our economic future but the question is now being asked, who's measuring stick are we using to guage our progress.
It would an interesting discussion but don't you think.
When our Ministers of State admit the departments they oversee are unable to deliver the most rudimentary of services expected of them, where a quagmire of public or project funds become so muddled that everyone simply ingores the confusion pretending it will simply go away, Where the PM has to go to Malaysia to seek medical attention and coruption becomes a throwaway line for the tabloids, comentators and foreign correspondents. The question we have to ask ourselves is when is enough really enough.
The next several weeks and indeed the next several months will be intersting times for our country. The message that we receive every year around this time revolve around progress and how far we have come since 1975. I think the jury came in a long time ago on that one and the answer was "not very far".
At the end of the day, we still have to live and survive here, but how we live and survive tomorrow depends on what our attitude for the future of our country is today.
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