Monday, April 20, 2015

EASY WAY TO MAKE A FORTUNE: THE 2015 PACIFIC GAMES

BY JAMES PEREYAP


When America and its allies invaded Iraq and kicked out the dictator Saddam Hussein, the first course of action was to get the Iraqis settled down and rebuild their infrastructure. Invading officers requested USD $12-$14 Billion (not million) in $100 bills airfreighted into Baghdad for quick disbursement.  Most has never been accounted for and apparently was stolen [read the article here at: http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/10/13/lost-iraqi-billions-found/].  What lesson can be learnt from this story of gargantuan waste of wealth?   Simple:   No government should ever throw large sums of money at a problem all at once and demanding quick results if you want the money used properly.   In PNG we always think we know better and it is not surprising that the Pacific Games are following the Iraq strategy for dumping money down ratholes. 

PNG can ill afford the painful results that are already appearing, such as widespread signs of shoddy workmanship.  So much money spent on such poor workmanship for what purpose?  Illegal kickbacks is the widespread suspicion.  But now we're facing not only crap results for the money spent, but the money spent is finally starting to drag down the whole economy, starting with the decline of the kina's value further.  Remember that not only the rice we eat but the wheat to make our daily bread is nearly all imported.  Enjoy the Pacific Games while they're here, because we'll be paying for them in high priced rice and break for years to come.

If you want to see a fine example of conspicuous money waste, look no further than Jackson's Airport International Terminal.  At the moment the terminal is a visual disaster.  With the games starting in about 2 months, large areas within the terminal are still stripped down to bare concrete.  Arriving visitors from international flights can glance through the glass windows as they walk through the initial sunlit hallway and witness more than one example of "kastam blo PNG" where 3 to 4 workers are doing nothing but watching 1 man working.   Is this the first impression we want to give first time visitors?  Is this an improvement over the former tradition of a welcoming live band and motu songs (now strangely absent).

The most amazing sight in the terminal is of entire rooms of perfectly okay tiled floors being ripped up for replacement.  Why?  The International Terminal was in fairly good shape.  IT DIDN'T NEED K80 MILLION THROWN INTO REHABILITATION!!!!    Is PNG so rich that we can afford to tear down and replace infrastructure that still looks good and is functional?  Have the PNG government even finished paying off the Japanese bank loan that allowed the new Jacksons Airport to be built in the first place?

Renovating the international terminal is yet another way to shovel big money into the mouths of construction companies that are wantok related or are willing to pay kickbacks into the hands of politicians and government employees.  Pacific Games corruption has been suspected for nearly 2 years [https://pngexposed.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/pacific-games-contract-brings-more-rumours-of-corruption/] but of course the O'Neill government never actually makes corruption investigations of any priority.

On 4 July 2015 the icing on this spoilt cake of Pacific Games construction will be the national embarrassment that will occur if lots of infrastructure still isn't complete.  As we know from past history, anything not complete on 4 July will never be finished.   Are we only months away from the same kind of global embarrassment that the Greek government and people had to face after their 2004 Olympics infrastructure construction disaster? [read these articles at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/03/olympicgames.sport   and  http://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2014/aug/13/abandoned-athens-olympic-2004-venues-10-years-on-in-pictures]. 

More than a decade later, the Greeks remain a laughingstock for that  debacle but it was never a surprise since Greece, like PNG, is a land of kickbacks and overexpenditures.  Is it any coincidence that the Greek Constantinou family are amongst Peter O'Neill's greatest friends and even before the Games construction, had pushed their fingers into too many overpriced government maintenance and rehabilitation pies in Moresby via the L&R Group?

The arrogant Minister of Sports, Pacific Games and National Events, Justin Tkatchenko, is front, left, right and centre of this fiasco.  Anyone who knows the man is well aware of his general lack of compassion for anyone other than himself and his cronies.   When last year's poor planning leading to the 5th Melanesian Festival of Arts & Culture first became public, Mr Tkatchenko was the first attack dog to point blame, without bothering to investigate the complex issues involved. 

Mr Tkatchenko shows no sympathy for the failure of others.  Let the Pacific Games be his test and if he fails, let us make sure that the world never forgets that Justin Tkatchenko and his boss, the Prime Minister, created the whole mess.  Pray that the Pacific Games will go off without a hitch yet have your bush knives ready to knock the heads of those who are spending PNG into disaster. 

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