PACIFIC ISLANDS REPORT

Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center
With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai‘i

By Solomon Kantha

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Nov. 21) – The level of governance is the primary determinant of growth and its domino effect is ultimately reflected in the economic and social panorama of the society.

Poor leadership performance on the part of national leaders and the many incidences of corruption coupled with the disregard and lack of intensive debate on imperative political issues is a contributory constraint to growth in Papua New Guinea.

If the Government is serious in realizing growth in terms of economic and social development, then there has to be good and effective governance that is responsive to the needs of the population.

Good and effective governance with a strong state machinery is a necessary prerequisite for growth and development.

A retrospective assessment of Papua New Guinea’s position on the Human Development Index (HDI) rank - where countries are categorized by the United Nations Development Program - revealed an alarming depreciation.

Papua New Guinea was ranked 116 in 1990, 117 in 1992, 126 in 1993, 128 in 1994, 129 in 1995, 133 in 2000 and dropped drastically to 137 in 2005.

Countries that are categorized as having a high human development aggregate have an HDI value of 0.800 and above while medium human development ranges from 0.500 to 0.799 while low human development countries are below 0.500.

Papua New Guinea was within the medium human development aggregate of 0.535 in 2000 and sank to 0.523 in 2005 — which is nine levels above the benchmark of low human development countries. And that is a really risky position in terms of PNG’s measure of governance and political capacity to address human development issues.

It is also worthy to note that the actual level of HDI for any given year may be driven more by historical events than by the current quality of governance.

Nonetheless, much needs to be done by the current government and subsequent governments to improve Papua New Guinea’s position on the HDI rank. The Human Development Index is a global assessment of the country’s achievements in the different areas of human development and the indicators provide a reference for assessing Papua New Guinea’s progress towards its Millennium Development Goals and its targets.

The HDI ranking of countries is one of the pragmatic approximations that reflect the level of governance.

Improving Papua New Guinea’s position in its human development status requires good and effective governance that will produce stability in broad policy directions, flexibility in responding to market signals and discipline in sticking with measures necessary for meeting long term objectives despite short-term difficulties.

In short, PNG needs a system of governance that exercises power in a manner that provides the conditions needed for human development and growth such as stability, security and a good business climate that fosters investment, growth, jobs and higher standards of living for all people living in society.

Low investment efficiency and slow human development are almost always associated with bad policies and that these are usually the result of poor governance.

Economic growth and human development are maximized by assuring the most efficient possible use of resources.

Recent political events concerning a proposed amendment to the Leadership Code and an increase in slush funds have once again begged numerous questions of the Government’s commitment to improving the quality of life for its people.

Sadly, it is uncertain whether an increase in Members of Parliament slush funds to PGK1.5 million (US$512,600) will ever improve the already worse-off situation when the meager PGK500,000 (US$170,800) had achieved little or no development and improvement in the lives of the people in rural areas.

It is even more doubtful with increasing revelations of some Members of Parliament referral to the Ombudsman Commission for misappropriation and depositing slush funds into personal bank accounts.

An amendment to the Leadership Code to exempt Members of Parliament from being dismissed from office will only aggravate the dire situation.

Meaningful development only requires an equitable distribution of resources in a transparent and accountable manner with political resolve and commitment. Accountability, transparency, equity and efficiency must be in the limelight of the Government's political agenda. There should be an effective regulatory measure to enhance accountability in government expenditures such as the use of slush funds, and increasing support and participation by Non-Government Organizations and other institutions that promote human rights and combat corruption.

Improving Papua New Guinea’s position requires participatory development and the improvement of human rights includes the rights of women. A systemic violation of human rights is a barrier to progress.

The Government must have the primary responsibility to prioritize development, to respect and protect human rights via its law enforcement agencies, to tackle inequality and root out corruption. Violent conflict such as tribal fights also blights the lives of many people.

Without renewed commitment to co-operation backed by practical action, the Millennium Declaration goals will just be an empty promise.

Even so, the Government must now consider an adequate policy measure to control the population growth rate as one of the significant variables that affect our human development progress.

PNG’s mid-year population is increasing steadily from 2.9 million in 1975, 3.56 million in 1988, 3.81 million in 1991, 5.2 million as of 2000 in the recent national census with a population projection of seven million in 2015.

In many developing countries, particularly countries in the African continent have experienced a drastic drop in Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Product per capita as a result of an ever-increasing population.

Consequently, the escalating growth rate of population will have a significant bearing on the distribution resources. Serious consideration should also be given to a sustainable and environmental friendly development of natural resources.

An assessment of these indicators asserts that the lack of good and effective governance does pose a huge constraint to growth in Papua New Guinea. In almost all variables of analysis, PNG has been below the threshold.

Papua New Guinea’s economic and social indicators reflect its position on the Human Development Index [HDI] rank where it is on the brink of reaching the low-income development aggregate.

PNG is on a mediocre echelon of the United Nation Development Program’s ranking of countries and is gradually depreciating if we do no take heed of this trend by realizing the significance of good and effective governance as a pre-condition for improved human development rating.

[PIR editor’s note: Mr. Solomon Kantha specializes in International Political Economy and is currently studying for a Masters in Political Science from the University of Hawaii.]

Papua New Guinea Post-Courier: www.postcourier.com.pg/

Copyright © 2005 PNG Post-Courier. All Rights Reserved