A GoPNG Of 'Recovery & Restoration' Needed
PNG needs a GoPNG with a focus on 'recovery and restoration' - recovery of illegally amassed private wealth from public coffers and restoration of a positive justice perception!
Why A Positive Justice Perception Is Important
An attitude is an evaluative tendency to respond to some specific object, situation, person or a category of people. Our individual values and beliefs influence our attitudes. Attitude toward justice perception can have a critical effect on citizens' behaviour toward our country and our GoPNG. Positive citizens' attitude makes an important contribution to good governance of our country at all levels. GoPNG will want from its citizens commitment to the country and good citizenship behaviours. But leaders of the country must create in us, the citizens, a positive perception of justice especially in distributive justice and procedural justice. Distributive justice concerns the distribution of common wealth, resource and power. Procedural justice on the other hand concerns the following of established processes and procedures. Citizens perceive justice if the decision-making processes and procedures and punishment are applied consistently across people and across time, free from bias and based on facts. Justice perception is influence by both individual and PESTEL environmental factors. But a positive justice perception will often rest on three fundamental organisational pillars of leadership, structure and discipline. Leadership must understand the importance of positive justice perception, i.e. knowing the way then going the way and showing the way to create and maintain a positive justice perception. Structure means that there must be a clear set of policies, processes and procedures in place and this is to be followed by the leader and everyone to achieve the desired result of a positive justice perception. Discipline is the commitment by the Leader and everyone to every time following the Structure to ensure that there is positive justice perception.
Dishonestly Amassing Wealth From Public Coffers Creates Injustice
When private wealth is amassed illegally from public coffers as in not following acceptable and established processes and procedures, this then creates a perception of procedural injustice.
The 'Unexplained Wealth Bill' is a welcome legislation by GoPNG which is intended to scrutinised wealth amassed, especially by public officials, whose legitimate income cannot afford the size of their wealth (cash, cars, houses and etc) at hand in a referenced time frame. This bill appears to be a relief to the prevalent and unabated issue of corruption in public offices that creates a tormenting perception of injustice in the way private wealth is accumulated from public funds in our country.
Justice Must Come Before Progress!
There is now this observed rise in anti-citizenship behaviours in our country and this can be attributed to this prevalent underlying perceptions of injustice not only of wealth accumulation by public office holders but also when politicians and 'big men' are not being punished enough for their crimes of corruption and illegal amassing of wealth from the public coffers. Government is for the people and by the people; and not for the individual and by the individual. Communal rights should take preference over individual rights. When we live for more (i.e. for the good of the community), we can live on less (i.e. sacrificing some individual rights). Development of a people into a desired contemporary society is progressive and not instantaneous. In our haste to impress as a modern society we have skipped the disciplined approaches of justice, punishment and deterrent that has kept our societies functioning for the benefit of all for thousands of years by giving prominence to the rights of the 'individual'. How can an individual exercise his/her rights in an undisciplined society where injustice (and violence) is rife? An authoritarian police state should herd our people as well as leaders into the right direction as it creates a perception of justice for the utilitarian good of the society and the individuals in the society.
Curbing Anti-Citizenship Behaviours Requires Justice Before Progress
GoPNG's aim is to progress the welfare of our country and its citizens and will want from us citizens our commitment to our country by exhibiting good citizenship behaviours. However, there will be no widespread satisfactory progress without justice () and often this perception of injustice, especially procedural injustice in the way wealth is illegally accumulated and offenders not justifiably punished, will manifest into anti-citizenship behaviours by the citizens. I wish for a GoPNG (and preferably an authoritarian government) to now leveraged off this 'Unexplained Wealth Bill' to create a desired positive justice perception by applying this law without fear or favour.
Executing The 'Recover & Restoration' Agenda Via An Authoritarian Police State
PNG has many good laws against corruption but creating and maintaining the desired perception of justice is often hindered by our inability to execute the laws and punish the offenders. I am of the view that only an authoritarian police state could satisfactory create a perception of justice and curb this observed increase in anti-citizenship behaviours. The authoritarian police state will leveraged off this 'Unexplained Wealth Bill' with a focus on 'recovery and restoration' - recovery of illegally amassed wealth from public coffers and restoration of a positive justice perception. This should restore natural justice in the human dimension and entice cooperation, participation and progress by citizens.