yutok
Monday 16th July, 2012


We are tired of being fooled

SINCE independence, every time we enter elections, I believe people vote for who is close to them and are related or clansmen or tribesmen, etc... I don’t like this idea because that is what is holding us back. It is understandable to vote for someone you know but that is not advisable. To do something effectively, a carpenter cannot be asked to do a mechanics job.
Look at all the leaders that we have, have you noticed that almost in all other provinces we have someone from that province standing for their own province? I think so...But are they the right people?
I have heard many people say things like “yeah our own people should stand for us” or “it’s our province, our people should look after us”, etc... Many of your leaders once they get in, move to Moresby, get money, buy house, create their own businesses, buy land and stay in POM. Am I wrong? Have you ever wondered why Moresby is the fast growing city and not your Province capital?
It’s hard to get good leaders in because ‘ples tingting’ doesn’t allow it. People think that there people will provide for them once they are in but your charismatic clansmen might not have the brain capacity to do what is to better your province. Everyone should bear in mind that any other Province capital can be a huge city like Moresby. All you need is to have your leaders stay put and improve their electorate.
For example Capital of Australia is Canberra, but Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne almost overshadows Canberra and you’ll hardly hear about Canberra when you talk about Australia. USA’s capital is Washington DC but we hear more stories about New York and Las Vegas more. You know why? Because their leaders improve their own states/province where they were voted in at. At campaigns, they say that if they are voted in they’ll fix roads, build aid posts, or bridges, etc... These things should fall automatically as requirements if any Tom, Dick and Harry enter parliament. These should not be conditions. The future of each province should be developing it and that’s by creating jobs so people can work in their own province. Making sure their geniuses are kept there to improve life there.
Some of the long serving members of parliament do not have their province even close to the standards that POM city is in because everyone is running off to the big city. Even the members don’t stay but you see them in POM, have businesses, beautiful houses and cars, children, grandchildren in expensive schools or at overseas.
And what about you? You, who voted them in? Is there a high standard school for your child that is affordable at your home province? You, who goes to garden on your feet, what beautiful vehicle is there at your grasp that can help you travel to sell your produce. You, the fisherman, how is the canoe? Have you got the dinghy you wanted? We vote, they live a luxury life, we go back to run down community schools, back to the old canoe and a new pair of thongs to walk back to our gardens. Aren’t you tired of that?
So much for having “my province so my people should look after us”...
If you can read this. Translate to your people so your clansmen can understand because some of your leaders are just fooling them.

You make several big errors in your observations, but the most outstanding error is this one: "Everyone should bear in mind that any other Province capital can be a huge city like Moresby."

This is simply not the case. There are clear reasons why some areas of the world generate big cities and others do not and it has nothing to do with leadership, it has to do with the ease of moving goods and wealth. That's why coastal cities, especially those with sheltered bays, usually always stimulate the largest cities in the world to appear.

There are a very few exceptions to this general rule. There is good reason why Hagen is larger than either Goroka or Wabag and in fact, that will always be the case.

You cannot "will" or "wish" a city to be born and grow and it will automatically happen because the political will was there. For a PNG example, look at the "town" of Pogera that landowners wished and wished into a city but will never be.

Wantok,
I don't agree with your idea, what you are trying to tell us here? I believe everything in the past, today and future will always fall on good and Bad leadership.when good and honest leaders lead any nation, that Province or country prospers,and if the bad leader rules everything go to the wrong direction as you can see or read through the massmedia.simple as that, your pathetic idealogy may work in Enga.

just a quick addition - we the people deserve the leaders that we get. ultimately we are responsible for who we select to lead us. We make poor choices therefore we will suffer the consequences.

Only when we wake up will we see change.

here is how a city or town grows: Build double lane highways and link it to a well established sea Port. Cities grow out of a seaport linked to the hitherland.Everything elses is automatic when you have that infrastracture in place. This thinking is not rocket science, it just needs leadership and political will to make it happen because everything rises and falls on leadership.We are at fault to elect this kind.

Nope, you're wrong. A double line highway may help a small town grow, but the moment you put in the highway, the vacuum action begins and wealth and resources slowly get sucked AWAY from the rural area and TOWARDS the seaport. Cmon mate, learn some economics!

Hardly anyone here on scape has "woken up" much less the public as a whole. We are a truly ignorant nation and one of the reasons is because our media was licking right out of the money pockets of the candidates all the way up to the election. Our journalistic reporting is enough to make me wanna trautim buai.

I agree.

How can our people be informed if they are being fed the garbage that we call news eveeryday.

Corrupt individuals & their deals are not investigated. If the crooks have money to bury the case in the court of law then they should be tried in the court of public opinion - menaing that they should be exposed.

We need true jounalist. The power of the pen is mightier than the sword!!!

Who will woke up?? This is a very important question but no one in this forum exactually know how to woke people up and whom to woke them up first.

Speaking the language sounds good to the ears of the ones that we claimed to be educated and semi-educated. Infact, we are blinded in making that piece of statement become reality.

Just want to share my mind on the statement made by our friend on leadership and how to woke people and community up to face the reality.

1. I beleive each an everyone participating in this national forum is atleast educated up to some level of education and have some understanding about leadership and people empowerment.

2. Leadership is mostly about empowering the people to think and act decisively about their lives, families and the communities. How to take ownership of their land and become resourceful in their respective communities, LLGs and districts.

3. We educated people have a greater responsibilty and that is to provide good environment for the leadership to develop the communities, council wards, llgs and districts. We have to help our disadvantaged communities back at home to understand the trend of development and how the governments work in the country. Unfortunately, most of us never do that. We all turn up during elections and speak as everyone in the community is educated to the level that we are.

4. I believe that the real solution for poor living standard, school fee problems, financial problems and hardships in starting up mini-businesses in in the land. Most educated elites, leaders and the people of PNG have not realized the importance and value of our land yet. The land has a huge capacity to leverage most of the problems our societies and communities are facing in PNG.

5. The more we divert the mindsets of people and the community into the land and caltivation of our land, I believe most people will come to realize the secrets of extracting wealth.

6. Realizing this, the educated elites must pave way for the member of parliament to bring in important infrastructural services like sealing of roads from the rural communities linking up the towns, then establsih financial facilities at the districts for rural farmers and semi-businesesses to start businesses and farming.

7. Once these two facilities are there, then develop rural markets and secure markets for the local farmers from developers, companies, institutions and business houses.

8. Once those are done, develop water supply systems and rural electricity. That will light up the rural districts, including the family, wards and the llg. That is what we call community empowerment. Educate the people how to maange the projects and sustain their economic activities. When these most basic infrastructures are in place, then I believe every family and community would have the opportunity to assist themselves, childrens education, health care, clothing, food, good housing etc........they will fend for themselves and will not depend on the leaders and educated elites. We will minimise the high economic burden in PNG.


Nb;
I wish to discuss issues of national importance and empower each other in this national forum so that somehow, sometime, we can identify some genuine and like minded people whose ideas and resources can be put together for the common interest in helping our community for the prosperity of our beautiful nation of PNG.

All comments and recommendations are welcome.


Nationalist

I can't tell you how many times your fine words have been said by countless others over the years since independence and absolutely not one thing has changed. Nothing you've said is new, we all know the problems and we pretty much all have similar solutions.

Why is there no action in the direction of the solutions? Simple: Virtually no people power pressure is ever put on the pollies to do the right thing. Thus, they don't. Simple as that.

Ok good,

you know it so put forward some strategies to address that chronic problem. Or you want the problems to be there and everytbody has to accept the status quo.

Bright ideas can shed some light into the people and the people will start thinking about ideas on how to take the challenge.

More hustifications and suggestions please...you can not just say the system has been there forever and will there be...that is a shallow statement and does not educate us anything.

The Nationalist

I remember I told 10,000 plus people at one time educating the locals about how to choose the quality leaders.And also told them about consequences of accepting briberies.
outline everything about reimbursing the costs during the election time when candidates win and forget the service delivery in the rural areas.
People are too good for listening but don't follow the teaching. they know the rights and wrongs but they are just ignoring it.

Bribery is the real cancer for both the village and city people.mainly for village people,Not huge amount of money but they can happy if you give them a coke,or buy them a dinner or spare them a bui,darka and lime and vote them for inreturn.I really sorry for them but can't say much. you can take Horse to the water but can't force it to drink.laka?

Its not that people are cowards. The most important thing is that it depends on the particular setting and the type of people they live there and their perception about the kind of awareness or initiative you want to bring across to them.

Well, I see your statements above have some points to make but the truth is that those 10,000 plus people that you have educated may not be the genuine population that need your training.

It is not again good to make sweeping generalization, meaning putting all people in in our rural communities in the same basket.

Some of the communities in the rural places are in dire need of good educational awareness on differentiating between good and bad leadership. And how to identify quality leaders and how to choose them. They need us the educated elites to train them about electing good leaders and them physically show them how servant or people's leaders should behalf in order to lead them. Show the people how leaders should interact with them.


Then I beleive the people will not be easily enticed by money and con talks from seasonal and to be leaders during elections time.

Thanks

Nationalist "Its not that people are cowards. The most important thing is that it depends on the particular setting and the type of people they live there and their perception about the kind of awareness or initiative you want to bring across to them."

I slightly disagree with your suggestion because,I know my people very well and I told what exactly they needed to know and understand to make decisions to elect a good leaders to represent them and the nation as a whole.People in my community like to praise the bad leaders as a good leaders and ignore the good quality leaders to represent them in the Parliament because they (good leaders) don't meet their wants.called "Briberies".I had delivered this message base on the fact that they were lacking this particular message.regardless of what i told them my people voted out the former MP for our electorate and voted in one womaniser,most corrupt and uneducated person who has a lot of money earned not through his hard work. to make it worse he doesn't speak and read english. under the leadership of former mp. there were few changes took place in the last 5 years. opened up post office was closed for far too long, opened the bank,roads,enforce law and order in community.



National:"Well, I see your statements above have some points to make but the truth is that those 10,000 plus people that you have educated may not be the genuine population that need your training"

so what you think about this population?
Do you think they know everything about choosing the right leaders?
or you think they are worse than the cowards?





"It is not again good to make sweeping generalization, meaning putting all people in in our rural communities in the same basket"

So you are trying to tell me that other rural communities have a better understanding of choosing their right leaders and more services reached them every 5 years? I see none.


"Some of the communities in the rural places are in dire need of good educational awareness on differentiating between good and bad leadership. And how to identify quality leaders and how to choose them"

Yes you are right and that's what I told my people.and they don't listen so I call them Cowards.



"They need us the educated elites to train them about electing good leaders and them physically show them how servant or people's leaders should behalf in order to lead them. Show the people how leaders should interact with them"


Yes,I did exactly you are stating here.I set up a NGO in my District and while Launching I invited Former PM.Somare. I was the classic example myself. regardless of what i have had done for them. they don't see the big picture infront of their face so I call them cowards, so my people are coward and other rural communities are coward as well because we see no good leaders are elected but only few yes but than they lost in the jungle of corruption.





Infact,I would like to ask you, did you ever in your life go back to your own community and tell your people to identify good and bad leaders? if not do it now,or if do than keep up good work. one day we see the fruit of our hard work.


my last comment, scapers we really need to go back to our community and educate them and you become a living example for them. I am doing it and will continue to do it untill my community understand this principle.

Thanks

You and I are the change agents and we will change the mindsets of the people...No one will do that.

You complaining that your people have never understand your awareness and voted in a womeniser. Why is that???

There are many factors that contribute to the change of mindsets of our rural people and to do so we need ample time, resources and effort to spend time with the community and ensure they understand fully what we intends to teach or educate them...The most important and effective way of educating and changing the mindsets of the entire community is not through well organized seminar or whatever, it is through your presence in the community and speaking all your bright ideas and strategies through your actions and leadership.

Doing this will take some ample time, but you need to pursue with confidence if you really have heart for the community and want to bring change into the lives of the people.

Sometimes, educated people like yourself can provide the community with the best seminar and presentations for several times but feedbacks and results may not be as expected....You would ask why.. as you have discussed above.

Before organizing awareness about leadership qualities or whatever developmental issues you first need to understand the behaviour and the status of the community very well in terms of:

1. Educational status (Are the people edcuated enough as other parts of the districts and provinces??) Some communities may be lacking behind educational standard like low literacy rates and are very poor or slow in understanding the importance and the different characteristics of leadership. Therefore, the community with their limited understanding may not have the brain capacity to willing follow what you aspire them to.

2. The community's living standards ( Poor living standards may deprived the people from their exposure and accessibility to good thinking and way of improving lives. They could be very slow in understanding what you bring across to them).

3. The community may not be educated or able to understand your language. As an agents for change educated elites like you who initiate the change must understand the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of the community before starting the good work. When identifying their weaknesses, you need to develop strategies on how to address them and improve them. It will takes 3 to 7 years.

4. As agents, you must speak their language and not yours or what you learn from the classrooms. Maybe you could apply the concepts but firstly let the community know and understand the concepts and tell them to take ownership.

5. If you know the characteristics of good and bad leadership and you can speak from your hearts rather than your mind, I tell you that you will be able to control the minds and hearts to the community. However, it your assume the community as a classroom or lecture room scenerio then I beleive all your seminars and worskshops will all be ineffective dispite all the resources and time being spent.

6. Maintain your integrity and do not allign with any political leaders. That if you do will undermine the potential of your initiative though there are also good sides of alliance with politics.

7. Then the perception the community on leadership and community empowerment will change as you become the center of community empowerment and servant leadership. The community will analyse the leadership trends in the past and have good knowledge to different peoples' leaders and fake or materialistic leaders.

8. There are more but just.........to shed some lights.


The Nationalist

Well, I have been start doing this since 2004 and I am still doing it.

Thankyou for your bright ideas in line with my thoughts.one day my actions will speak for itself. Iam a firm believer of "living a life for others is worthwile"

Nationalist, you make many good points in your posting. Your posting can only be commented on with several e-mails.

In this e-mail I focus on one comment you made which in the world had large has proven completely idealistic. It is: "we need ample time, resources and effort to spend time with the community "

You are definitely right about this. However, in hardly any country in the world has it been achieved, simply because it costs too much money in labour and transport to reach everyone often enough and long enough to promote education. The best anyone would have come would be in realtively small countries where the population is densely packed into specific areas. Maybe a place like Cuba would have achieved your ideal to some extent. Singapore can certainly do it. But PNG isn't even close to those countries in terms of resources or the ease of reaching people.

This basically insurmountable obstacle pressures the use of newspapers, books, radio and television to reach far more people at a lower per unit cost. The government has never taken radio seriously even though it's the most obviously potential way to reach a lot of people. But first you have to subsidise the cost of batteries and the cost of the radios themselves. When Chan was PM he actually knocked off duty for radios (but not for batteries). I don't know what it's like now.

Mobile phone text messages is not a good solution because the messages are too short and superficial. People need to be able to listen or read lengthy discussions or portrayals of an issue.

Patriot

Thanks PNG PATRIOT,

your comments again gives me some insights.


Once again thanks and lets keep this forum alive with radical discussions. Information power.


Nationalist

I strongly disagree with PNG Patriot because there is nothing
Hard as you think. Anything is possible if you
Plan it properly n get the picture of what you wanna
Do in your heads. It's all easy, every engineers do
Plan and make it happen. As a result we planes fly, vehicles
Moving around on the land spaceman up the moon
This is peanut you can do it. Before you carry out awareness
Campaign you have to train yourself first
And lead by example. Use the right tools to start
Of with. The tool mean is people net work,
NGO net works n government departments
Once these groups understand what you stand for
Than everything you wanna promote fall in place laka

I strongly disagree with PNG Patriot because there is nothing
Hard as you think. Anything is possible if you
Plan it properly n get the picture of what you wanna
Do in your heads. It's all easy, every engineers do
Plan and make it happen. As a result we planes fly, vehicles
Moving around on the land spaceman up the moon
This is peanut you can do it. Before you carry out awareness
Campaign you have to train yourself first
And lead by example. Use the right tools to start
Of with. The tool mean is people net work,
NGO net works n government departments
Once these groups understand what you stand for
Than everything you wanna promote fall in place laka

I strongly disagree with PNG Patriot because there is nothing
Hard as you think. Anything is possible if you
Plan it properly n get the picture of what you wanna
Do in your heads. It's all easy, every engineers do
Plan and make it happen. As a result we planes fly, vehicles
Moving around on the land spaceman up the moon
This is peanut you can do it. Before you carry out awareness
Campaign you have to train yourself first
And lead by example. Use the right tools to start
Of with. The tool mean is people net work,
NGO net works n government departments
Once these groups understand what you stand for
Than everything you wanna promote fall in place laka

The only thing awareness campaigns achieve is to make people aware they have a problem. That's not very helpful is it? People wanna solve their problems not just be made aware they have more and more problems!

Pogerian,

you are right there...that is the underlying agenda.

Thanks for your contribution.


Ta

If people didn't apply what you taught, its because you were too busy preaching at them. Your teaching was ineffective.

Our pollies do the same thing. They tell us what we should be doing. That kind of strategy never works with adults, it only works with little kids.

Tisa you funny bustard.

Whats a bustard looked up that word in my dictionary and couldnt find it could you please explain yourself so I can learn better english.

See my elaboration on this statement's above.

Its very interesting to discuss.

Nationalist

Sumatin yu hard lo holim pipia blo bek.sapos yu ino larem pipia igo yu painim trabel.
yu klia nau sumatin?

Bro, FYI this is a board for serious discussion not childish comments. Use High Skul Mangi board for empty headed postings.