PNG: Editorial - Tribal leaders can make a difference

OPINION: PORT MORESBY (PNG Post-Courier editorial/ Pacific Media Watch): Papua New Guinea’s wantok system can be a blessing and a curse. And this is where the problem lies.


Many critics and detractors of the wantok system argue that it is the biggest obstacle to development, change and progress in Papua New Guinea and is probably one of the underlying reasons for corruption that is eating away at the heart of our society today.

This may be true, but one thing is certain. The wantok system that we have today has been tried and tested down the centuries and is the foundation on which more than 800 unique cultures and more than one thousand tribes stand on.

One of the features of our Melanesian cultural heritage is the role that the ‘big man’, the paramount chief and lesser chiefs, the clan and tribal leaders play in our everyday life, especially in the rural areas where more than 80 percent of the people live.


A chief, clan or tribal leader can declare war on behalf of his people against a neighbouring enemy clan, send his people out to battle and men, women and children may die as a result.


He can also call a truce, make peace and sit at the head table during the peace celebrations with his one-time enemies.


New alliances
He can enter into new alliances, protecting and strengthening his hausline’s relations with one or more tribes that can go on for generations.


It is for this reason that the PNG Defence Force Election 2012 Joint Task Force Commander Col Esekia Wenzel has made a call three days ago for all clan and tribal leaders in the Highlands to throw their support behind the Security Forces, the Electoral Commission and the Government by taking ownership of the election [starting on June 23] to help deliver a smooth, safe, free and fair election.


Leaders can play a decisive role and make a difference in the outcome of the election. There is no doubt about that.


The Highlands region is where the bulk of PNG’s population comes from and where the majority of the 4.8 million voters live. What happens there, whether good or bad, will have a bearing on the election.


This is important because there are reports of high possibility of use of firearms, widespread alcohol abuse, intimidation, bribery, free sex etc that pose a real threat to the election.


Highlands divisional commander Teddy Tei reports of members of his own Highlands Police being involved in alleged smuggling of ammunition, supporting a candidate, attacking a sitting MP and destroying election posters.


There will be an international observer team [in Papua New Guinea] to assess the election and report on it. The eyes of the international community are on us. But it is the people of PNG that matter, and our leaders can make a big difference here.