Open letter to the people of Hela

Hundreds of years ago When Highlanders started Leadership they would not have foreseen the great contribution they would have made to the leadership we see today .

During the per-colonial era and years after PNG's independence, Helas sweated as laborers in cocoa, tea, coffee, copra, palm oil and rubber plantations around the country to sustain the economy and development for the rest of PNG.

I have some advice from the word's of Kewapi Advocate, Kagua-Erave " I HAVE read several view-points regarding the new Southern Highlands Province. There are many critics who are saying this province will run down to its lowest because politics has been deeply rooted into all fabrics of the society. I concur with the critics for several reasons.

Firstly, the former Southern Highlands Province (Hela included) was the last frontier to be discovered and thus grouped into one-single administrative unit by the Australian colonial administration. There was not much thought given based on ethnic, cultural or geographical considerations, hence, different people with different geo-politics were grouped and banded together as one Southern Highlands administrative unit.

For example, the Hela people are completely different to the Mendi and Nipa people, likewise the Kutubu and Erave people and so as the Kagua-Ialibu (Kewapi) and Pangia people, etc. All these regions are distinctively different in culture, custom and dialects. The politics and administration of the former Southern Highlands have always been run along these lines and this remains to this day. Hela has been fighting to get out of this politics and have succeeded through their own provincial status granted by the national government.
Secondly, I have said it previously and I will repeat again that Southern Highlanders have always had smooth sailing under the leadership of Hela. Hela has always provided the leadership, workforce and prudent management in the Southern Highlands administration. With Hela gone, I doubt Southern Highlanders will run their affairs and destiny prudently.
The regional and ethnical grouping will still prevail and politics and public administration will still be run along these lines. The Southern Highlands politics has deeply encroached into the fabric of the provincial and district administration to as low as at elementary and community school boards, let alone secondary and high school schools as milking cow for political pundits."

I know that many young people worry ab the Hela Province . I urge you to have faith in this Province and in the future. Together, we can work to build a future in which you will be the light of PNG .

Together, let us work to invent the future that we seek. Energy for Prosperity.

I conclude with the word's of Governor Agiru "I appeal to all Hela landowners to use the proceeds from the LNG project to develop their place and improve their livelihoods instead of squandering it on extravagant lifestyles in Port Moresby. Hela as a new province we have seen the problems and misdeeds of the other provinces I would like to urge us to try and avoid these mistakes to get the province progress and in par with the rest of PNG in the years to come. "

I stand as no strange to the People of Hela especially Tari Pori , and i speak to you with better confidence, avoid the worthless tribal fight's and think of better alternative's for solving our problem's. Think of tapping Power to Drive our Provincial resource's creating the vibrant Hela I can fore See.

Kofi Assan , Mangi Tari.
Political Activist and Interdependent Parliamentary Correspondent ( Mangi Tari Blog)