KEEPING OUR POLLIES HONEST

PC: Dr Joseph Ketan

By Joseph Ketan

It is hard to keep track of politicians. We cannot hold them accountable for their actions if we do not know what they are doing – or not doing – with respect to their duties.

We have got to keep our politicians honest by keeping an eye on them at all times!

The PNG daily newspapers, generally, do a good job in keeping our parliamentarians honest, although in recent years there has been growing concerns over biassed reporting on several occasions.

Radio still does a terrific job in terms of coverage and the quality of reporting. The NBC easily leads in keeping our people informed on what is happening in our country. The commercial FM radios are doing a good job, but their focus is on the national capital, leaving room for improvement.

EMTV could become a powerful medium of communication, but they employ lazy reporters, with terrible English, while the good ones (John Eggins and Scott Waide have moved on).

Social media, with all its faults and awful grammar, has the potential to hold MPs accountable, though we get a lot of misinformation at the moment. The level of literacy will improve the standard of reporting and debate on key issues affecting our country.

Sir Anthony Siaguru used to provide some great commentaries on the state of affairs in PNG. I enjoyed reading Dr Tony Deklin’s commentaries, but he has stopped writing for the general public. I love reading Dr Andrew Moutu’s elegant articles on a wide range of topics, but his writing is not for public consumption. He writes for a cultured audience.

John Endomonga and Samson Komati provide useful political commentaries on everything political. Their commentaries, although biased, are necessary. David Lepi’s commentaries are biased toward Peter O’Neill – but he writes beautifully.

Micheal Kabuni and Duncan Gabi do better than most. They will, no doubt, take the mantle of responsible reporting in years to come. I hope politicians do not buy them off. Patrick Kaiku and Teddy Winn will provide leadership in political analysis at UPNG soon. Francis Wagiriai and Mike Kabuni will join them there. That will provide the basis for PNG political scholarship and commentaries on national affairs.

I would love to read more from some great thinkers, including Roland Katak, Joseph Sukwianomb, Professor John Nonggorr, Dr Thomas Webster, Gabriel Pepson, Peter Pena, Peter Komon, Paul Mawa, Paraka Maua Pena, Thomas Laka, Dr Lawrence Sause, Dr Steven Winduo, Dr Elizabeth Kopel, Dr Fiona Hukula, Dr Orovu Sepoe, Dr Hengene Payani, Dr Linus Digim’Rina, and Professor Frank Griffin, and my countrymen Frank Senge Kolma and Nikints Tiptip.

We live in a country with high levels of illiteracy at all levels. It is up to people with knowledge of government to comment on public affairs.

When good men – and great women – stand by and do nothing, evil triumphs. So, it is absolutely necessary that learned men and women must stand up for the rights of the downtrodden.

Have a Safe Easter!