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“the major concern ….. is the ideology of regionalism and tribalism. These two concepts (have) created complete chaos in the ethical principles that governs …. service delivery in PNG.” Very true, and the primary reason I believe the public service in its present from will remain incapable of delivering services to where they are needed most. Hyper regionalism and tribalism have curtailed more than service delivery. It has suppressed economic opportunity for rural men and women and over time these factors have combined and led to the potential for chaos evident in a young disaffected population. After five decades it is clear that regionalism is not going away, and delivery systems need to adjust to take account of this. In my view only those who live in the thousands of communities and their elected leaders, in what is surely the most socially diverse nation in the world, can envision and deliver a more “appropriate” system. I believe the time has come to support a society wide reflection on what has and has not worked in the first five decades. Conversations should be held across the nation in community meetings, churches, schools, universities and parliament in the hope that a more equitable and culturally sound approach can be derived. Importantly it should produce a blueprint on how limited resources can best be applied to a burgeoning population to support health, education and widespread appropriate economic activity. To succeed it has to emanate from the grass roots and be carried to the legislature. Social media can drive it. To that end I suggest there is no better time to start than now.

Thanks Steven & Terrence Reflecting on Bernard Narokobi's article on Melanesian Way I see that we have values that contributed to the governance of our society. However, the major concern that we currently encounter nowadays is the ideology of regionalism and tribalism. These two concepts as created a complete chaos in the ethical principles that governs the outcome of service delivery in PNG. Nepotism and favoritism is reducing the constant flow of service delivery. The most important thing to consider in this diverse multicultural ethnicity is the power of unity. Although we may belong to different context but we are one. The moment when we think about the essence of unity in every aspects of governance we will see tangible development in our nation.

On a positive note, the Connect PNG Program will have a potentially positive impact of increasing mobility thereby allowing people to move more freely in search of opportunities. Currently, many are confined to their local areas, competing for limited resources like land to survive. Leading to violence. Another suggestion is to promote intermarriages across the country, aiming to decrease the numerous ethnicities and create a more manageable and homogenous society. People marrying each other in their own localities and does not have enough exposure of others in the entire country/locality and seems to have bias, feeling threatened and insecurity over resources and continue fighting in order to protect their survival.

Hi' MC I would rather suggest the most effective means of communication is through verbal face to face interactions. Therefore, many of our fine officers in various institutions in the country do not really want to live their comfort zone come down to where the people are. Technology can be of great help in relation towards disseminating vital information but it only reaches those who are able to access such information. Therefore, I would like to point out some strategic and reliable means towards disseminating such information in PNG context; * Using Local leaders in the village; Example, Councilors, Village court magistrates, Identified leaders in the community etc. * Church can also be an avenue to discuss some of this major issue; We often see Church as a place of Worship only but it would be good if we can address issues such as this in the Church because it contributes towards the development of humankind holistically. * Do public forums and try to get feedback from the general public * Technologically wise; Most of our rural community still do access radio station network. Therefore, I would rather suggest the usage of radio station to transmit information, however the information must be narrowed down to the understanding of the people; For example using our common Lingua Franca, which is Tok-Pisin to disseminate information. These are just my suggestions, what do you think?

Today we have published an update on the Pacific Engagement Visa. <a href="https://devpolicy.org/the-pacific-engagement-visa-in-august-20230829/" rel="ugc">The Pacific Engagement Visa in July and August: 2-1</a>

Hi Namos, Thank you very much for your comment! To be honest, I have trouble educating myself on these issues given the degree of complexity and obfuscation involved. I am far from being an expert but there are a few great resources I often refer to such as PNGEITI (https://www.pngeiti.org.pg/pngeiti-reports/) and PNGi (https://pngicentral.org/about/). As for how to spread the word, I guess social media is the conventional answer but personally I think that a kind of 'public lecture' format (such as the free public lectures provided by academics in Japan post-WW2 to farmers and other civilians who were keen to be educated but could not afford to go to university) is more effective and avoids issues like disinformation/misinformation, accessibility and so on. But I guess local people in PNG would have better ideas how best to disseminate this kind of information! What are your thoughts?

Wondering what is the latest update on this? This is interesting to every Pacific Islanders.

Thanks Nemos, I'm not sure if I agree with every item on your list. But I think your broader point is very interesting, and an excellent starting point for discussion about how PNG might radically change democratic governance to fit the country's context. Thanks again Terence

Namos, I agree with your ideas. As you point out communities are the bedrock of PNG society, each with their own culture, governance, land and identity, but this is not taken into account by the existing system even if it claims to do so. The system as it stands sets out to tackle the big picture matters that concern integration with the international system. Think banking, trade, business, taxation, air traffic rules where everybody conforms to a westernised system. The focus upon domestic nation building for your communities, clans and tribes has been quite forgotten in the process. Their needs have simply been ignored with the result that a nation of predominantly young people under the age of 25 are clamouring for change by whatever means – fair or foul. I think that there is an urgent need to place a major focus on this demographic before law-and-order issues render parts of the nation ungovernable and threaten to fracture it. The sense of disempowerment, frustration and abandonment by the present system is palpable and at times overpowering. The system has failed communities and this cannot be permitted to continue. As you suggest the missing piece of the puzzle is a mechanism to ensure that communities, who are the key stakeholders in nation building are consulted on what they expect from their representatives by way of health, education, infrastructure, economic opportunity and employment. An appropriate system would by more equitable and enable communities to be active participants in discussing and creating the futures they want for themselves and their children. Presently it does neither. As you near your 50th independence anniversary, there is a need for young people to band together and lead a political conversation about what type of society has been created for them. Has it benefited them in the manner your founding fathers had hoped for as they expressed in your constitution. If not, what adjustments need to be made as you advance into the next 50 years that this generation will live through. Remember that you get the leaders you vote for. A conversation about what the future for the 85 percent who live on their traditional land should look like and what type of representatives might deliver that vision, might be a place to start.

Thanks Terrence You do have a valid point. I am just suggesting if the government can formulate a contextualization model of governance that can be adequate to our society or try to formulate ethical principles that contributes towards the simplicity of development in the cultural context. I think that most of the laws that governs the implication of service delivery is more western. However, if we carefully understand the principle of delivering service in relation towards Melanesian perspective for example; * The system of reciprocity * Hospitality * Usage of traditional remedy to cure illnesses * Traditional understanding of Manhood and Womanhood * Strict discipline and punishment to law breakers * Most importantly respect to others in the society There are more values to be added however the government is now focusing on major impact projects that develops more laws to protect its primary obligation without thinking of the basic systems that can produce transformative development in lives of the people holistically.

Hi, I am Tony Iroga, I am doing research on data unemployment at Solomon islands national university. Please if could give me data from 2010 to 2023 in Solomon islands.

Thanks Namos, Good comment. It is certainly worth thinking about how traditional systems could be used to foster better governance in PNG. The challenges that I think the country might face in doing this would be: (1) The diversity of traditional systems in the country. (2) Using traditional systems at a completely different level (the nation state, not the community). (3) Using traditional systems in a new more context with today's challenges. In raising these challenges, I am not arguing that traditional systems cannot help. But I think that it will be important to think about how they need to be adapted, if they are to be used. Thanks again for your comment. Terence