Page 20 - IB February 2024

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weak. Bribery and corruption is rife. They don’t trust the Budget, including K200 million (US$53.9 million) for SME
government systems, [which have] deteriorated over the intervention, the K150 million (US$40.5 million) for State
years. They are aware that you can get a land title by bribing equity, and others, to support commerce and business in our
government officers. They are aware of the ‘whom you country,” he said.
know’ system to get employed. They are aware of inflated In a significant development in early February, Marape
infrastructural projects for people in the government system tasked four ministries to draft an urgent plan to address
to get bribes.
“And so, the computer glitch and policemen accusing
the government of huge cuts in tax because of government
mismanagement of the economy was fuel for the public to go
on such massive rioting, looting, and burning down of business “The reality is we are living in a guessing game
and that’s a disastrous future for our country.
houses.” It’s more like living in a pressure cooker where
Samof cites the Connect PNG program, which is building things can explode any time.”
roads into rural areas to allow those populations access to - Institute of Public Affairs Director, Paul
markets and government services, as one initiative that has Barker
broad-based developmental potential.
“Remote areas that were only accessible by air can now be
accessible by roads. It makes it cheaper to travel by road to
access goods and services. It also opens up untapped arable
lands in rural areas for large agricultural projects. So, this is youth issues and to outline strategies that would help address
one way to grow the economy and discourage people from the ongoing issues through a youth mobilisation programme.
drifting into urban areas to seek employment opportunities.” “What happened here in Port Moresby on the 10th of
January is a signal to us that if we are not conscious and
Is anyone listening? actively doing something to address this increasing youth
In the days after Black Wednesday, Prime Minister James bulge, we are not safe from destruction,” he was reported as
Marape announced an assistance package for affected saying by local media.
businesses. “Government must work to find the solutions for society, if
“The Government has sufficient funding in this year’s not, then we are all wasting our time.”

Opinion Opinion

THE POLITICS OF RIOTS IN MELANESIA

By Jon Fraenkel The timing of the riots makes the allegation of political
triggers plausible. Since the July 2022 general election,
The riots that erupted in the Papua New Guinea capital, Marape’s government has been immune from a no-confidence
Port Moresby, on January 10 have left a trail of destruction challenge on the floor of parliament owing to an 18-month
likely to have severe political ramifications. Such grace period which expires in February 2024. The grace
disturbances in Melanesia’s major cities are not unusual, period law was initially introduced as a 6-month immunity
but the scale of the riot—triggered mass looting in Honiara in the 1975 Constitution but then extended to 18 months in
in November 2021 and in Port Moresby in January 2024—has the early 1990s. It was intended to diminish the incidence
been greatly increased by the large-scale drift of youths of no-confidence votes, but – paradoxically – it has made
from the rural areas to the towns. The riots left 22 dead these more likely. Ever since, sitting Prime Ministers have
in Papua New Guinea, a grisly tally reached after seven repeatedly faced no-confidence challenges at the end of their
charred corpses were belatedly discovered in two of the first 18 months. Some have survived, some have fallen, but
capital’s burnt out shops. all MPs expect a period of political instability at that point.
Those disturbances have been seen by some as a response Unscrupulous politicians have not been averse to whipping
to chronic urban unemployment, by others as a reaction up social discontent ahead of such contests. In 2016, for
to badly mishandled fiscal policy and by still others as an example, police fired on students demonstrating at the
orchestrated opposition conspiracy. University of Papua New Guinea in support of an opposition
Prime Minister James Marape claimed that ‘political no-confidence motion against then-Prime Minister, Peter
influence’ lit the match that sparked the riots and that O’Neill.
these were the work of ‘organised arsonists’ who were Marape himself clearly smells danger. In a post-riot press
assisted by “some rogue element of our police force”. conference, he appeared flanked by 26 pro-government

20 Islands Business, February 2024