I agree with my fellow citizens to suggest that the K5 million allocated by the government to build the Unity Pillar should have been allocated to address more pressing needs.

Yes, I agree with members of the public that amounts of money should be allocated to addressing the financial crisis that Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Jiwaka finds itself at this time and stop this vital health service from shutting down as reported in the media. Projects such as the Unity Pillar may be important to enhance national identity, but they would not address our pressing socio-economic issues affecting the majority of us at this pandemic time. The government ought to take this reality to heart. The recent national tour by the group led by the Constitutional Law Reform Commission to gauge our views on putting in place legislation to officially call Papua New Guinea a Christian nation is another of those feelgood and politically orientated engagements. The other is the similar tour taken by the National Boundaries Commission to also gauge our views about creating new open electorates recently. Yes, the review of the boundaries is long overdue and many governments since the last review before the 1977 National Election did nothing. But the recent one is illtimed at a time we as a nation are running low on cash. Our national financial advisers in Treasury and Finance should know the cold hard facts about our dire financial situation at this time and advise government on curtailing excessive spending. Now is not the time to be creating 22 new open electorates as the National Boundaries Commission announced recently. Now is not the time to spend our meagre cash on non-essential items such as the three mentioned above. The government must control spending and expend the little money we have on very needy areas or projects that have tangible economic return on investment. It would be wonderful that the government look for ways to cut the excessive or unnecessary public expenditure at the same time. One example would be to privatise non-performing stateowned enterprises (SOEs) where necessary. The government should sell the Falcon Jet yet as mooted by three governments to date. Why not sell the jet and get the money to finance the national cancer clinic at the Angau General Hospital in Lae, for example? How about merging some of the government statutory bodies so they are lean and streamlined to function optimally? Is it possible for the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) to merge with National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA)? The government may also consider merging the National Research Institute with the University of Papua New Guinea, and make our national public university a “premier university” once more. The two institutions are located next to each other and there used to be rich collaboration in the past and why not they merge and strengthen the university academic programs and research? Follow the example of the Australian National University in the Australian capital, Canberra. The ANU is responsible for significant body of research work for the Australian public policy and foreign policy endeavours. What us my point here? I am saying that instead of our national fixation with the extractive industry as the panacea to address our national socio-economic woes, we ought to think about engaging other sectors tangible terms as well to be equal drivers of our national development pursuits. I have yet to hear any real policy stance of the government regarding the creation a knowledge-based economy using our universities, colleges and research institutions. The most important resource in any country is not the natural resources in and on the land but the human resources. Our people need to be seen to be part-takers of our national development, beginning with educating them up to the highest levels in the universities and colleges where possible. Now is supposed to be time to engage with our higher learning institutions and research organisations to educate the next generation of human resources and research work as solutions to our collective national development policies and plans. PNG is aware that the current government has been attempting to address the issues in the mineral and petroleum sectors. That is fine. However, this endeavour looks biased and other sectors, and in particular, the higher education and research sectors are being overlooked. My suggestion to the current government and future governments is to appreciate the important pivotal roles of high learning institutions and research institutions in nation-building. They provide the skilled and educated manpower and offer the solutions to problems and development challenges through research. My message to our governments, current and future, is to think and act outside of the political survival mode, move away from the fixation with the mineral and petroleum sectors and forge a visionary and far-sightedness agenda that covers the entire socio-economic spectrum of our country. Our governments ought not be dissuaded by populist short-term agendas but vision for our collective good for the long term.