Court re-instated Member for Vanimo-Green and Opposition Leader Belden Namah stated last week that the sudden upsurge in COVID 19 cases in Port Moresby has a pint of politics involved.

Mr Namah claimed that the Government’s announcement of a sudden increase in positive cases in the national capital coincided with his reinstatement and re-filing of the court challenge against the election of the Member for Tari-Pori, Mr James Marape as the Prime Minister.

Mr Namah is not alone with such a view judging from discussions on social media and other forums. Opinion is divided.

The merits of such a claim as Mr Namah and those who feel the same is the province of relevant authorities to ascertain.

But one fact is clear. It points to the reality of political point scoring and survival that continues to dominate the national leadership and management of our country.

For so long, the affairs of our country has been at the mercy of politics and political showmanship.

The fact is politics is not a means to an end. Politics simply supposed to be a process that acts as a conduit for a higher calling, which is the equitable existence and prosperity of Papua New Guinea and its people.

The pertinent question is what is important for PNG. Is it the political survival and welfare of 111 Members of Parliament and their hangers on or the welfare of 8 million citizens and people from other countries whom they do business with in terms of trade, commerce, foreign affairs and other engagements?

As a nation, we have so many of our people who view politics as king. To some, it is worth fighting over and dying as demonstrated in some parts of PNG during the last national election in 2017.

In so many instances, politics has been taken too personally and the personality clashes clouding sound judgment in political leadership and management of our country.

These political differences come to a head when legal and constitutional provisions such as the vote of no confidence (VONC), are exploited and we see the opposing factions mobilizing themselves towards the showdown.

At this time, the Opposition Leader is making use of the legal avenue available for him to question the legality of Members of Parliament electing Mr Marape as the Prime Minister.

Anxiety is high in both political camps at this time amidst the COVID 19 pandemic scare.

The anxiety between the two opposing camps was evident in the earlier legal challenges on the same case at the start of the year, which the Government won on procedural grounds while the substantive matter that the Opposition Leader is seeking answers to remains.

Within few days of Mr Namah being reinstated as MP and Opposition Leader, he has filed the Constitutional application in the Supreme Court seeking several orders pertaining to the election of the Prime Minister in May 2019. In a matter of hours of those political developments, the Government has reported a spike in positive cases of COVID 19 and the first death from it – all in Port Moresby.

It is the right of the Parliamentary Opposition “to expose, oppose and depose” in any constitutional democracy likes as long as it is done in the spirit of what is right and correct by the constitution and its enabling laws and the people.

It is also the right of the Government in office to defend itself when challenged by the Opposition whether in court or in other forums.

However, exercising of the rights available to the Government and Opposition continues to come at a cost. We do not know how many people die in the rural areas and peri-urban settlements due to lack of medical assistance every time the nation’s attention and the business of running the country is caught up in the euphoria of a possible change in government.

COVID 19, a deadly pandemic, has arrived on our shores at a time when anxiety is high among MPs and their minders and benefactors concerning a possible change in government.

Those on the Government side are weary of a possible court victory by the Opposition questioning the election of the Prime Minister last year.

They are also mindful of the 18 months ‘grace period’ lapsing in November 2020 before another VONC in the Government may be introduced by opponents in Parliament.

For the ordinary folks, this seasonal political gamesmanship must not come at the cost of human lives. It is never good to play politics with the lives of the people of Papua New Guinea.