Mipela ino inap? What the f***?

BY MARTYN NAMORONG

WHY DO ORGANISATIONS RUN BY EXPATS generally do better than those run by Papua New Guineans?

And why did Papua New Guinean civil servants and disciplinary forces perform better under the colonial administration than they do now?

There are various possible explanations and some may be more valid than what I’m about to discuss.

I suppose this discourse is a meditation on a story a heard recently about a recent university graduate who was too scared to present to a white man, so he’d tell his female colleague to “test the waters” ahead of him. Perhaps it was his inferiority complex that made him strive for perfection to please that white boss.

I also recall earlier this year, at the Institute of National Affairs, researcher Amanda Watson from Australia was presenting her PhD thesis on mobile phone usage in Madang Province.

After her presentation, a senior officer from the Bank of Papua New Guinea thanked her and suggested she should do a second study to compare with earlier work. I was horrified!  One would think that a senior central banker would be in a position to organise such research activity if the information was relevant to the Bank, particularly regarding mobile-based financial services.

It is an all too familiar sight at conferences, workshops and seminars that one sees a crowd of high ranking Papua New Guineans stating their own disempowerment and expecting some messiah to solve the problems and that of the country.

They focus on what they “lack” as opposed to the power and influence they have by virtue of the positions they hold in wither the public or private sectors.

And I recall at medical school how a colleague asked me why I was reading on project management and proposal writing. I told her that doctors were highly respected and influential members of the community. As such, there exists a potential for doctors to use their standing in the community to advocate change and bring about community development.

Furthermore, the doctor should be knowledgeable about dealing with development partners in achieving public health outcomes in community projects like water and sanitation.

I envisaged a much broader role of a medical practitioner than just the narrow focus that limits most doctors to clinical medicine.

There is a perverted psyche prevalent through wider society that the sheeple apply upon themselves religiously. It is expressed in phrases such as: mipela ino inap, ol lida mas wokim, lack of funds, lack of capacity, nogat moni, mipela mas kisim tok orait pastaim, etc.

Yet all of a sudden, if a foreign missionary, technical advisor, general manager or aid worker gets involved, there is a lot of activity as communities, organisations and individuals rally around the foreigner.

I reckon what happens is that a people who for whatever the reason think of themselves as inferior, now have to prove their worth to an external adjudicator. Communities want the approval of the foreign missionary, local workers want to prove their worth to the foreign boss, and so on.

Once the foreigner is gone and replaced with a Papua New Guinean, the juice runs out and everything falls apart.

Sadly, the Papua New Guinean replacement gets labelled a poor manager. Or conversely, the Papua New Guinean manager lacks self confidence and ends up serving his or her own interests in isolation, leading to the collapse of the project.

The most imprisoning thought is that of “mipela ino inap mekim dispel samting” or its English equivalent, “lack of funds and resources”.

I didn’t study economics in school but that is no excuse for me not understanding the basis of the study of economics and that is - how to best apply scarce resources to satisfy unlimited human wants.

Somehow, the people running this country haven’t figured out that they will always lack funds and resources. This issue therefore is not the lack thereof of funds and resources but how one administers limited resources to achieve development goals.

The other imprisoning state of mind is the perspective of time as circular as opposed to linear time. I’ve written about this matter already. The Europeans had inherited from Judeo-Christianity the notion of linear time – thus the need to have calendar years.

The liturgical calendar of the Church also aided in this long-term thinking. This was not the case in the context of animist Melanesia and its circular time.

The saying “mipela ino inap” stems from the assessment that the scarce resources that are available now cannot cater for achieving a desired outcome within this circular time, therefore it is impossible to do anything to solve an issue.

Thus members of parliament still complain that their slush funds are inadequate even though they were getting K10 million. If it cost K5 million to build a road, they’d say there are lack of funds therefore “mipela ino inap long wokim ol rot na bris”. They don’t usually think alternatively that they could build the road over their five year term, spending K1million per year.

A lot of money was allocated for improving infrastructure in schools – the RESI Funds, there is very little to show. Remember the controversial private hospital project at Bautama. It was to be built using Chinese funding that was meant for other hospital infrastructure. Since the project flopped we hope the funding was put to good use.

The reality is that at any given point in time, there will never be enough funding to meet all demands for development in Papua New Guinea. The challenge is for people to start thinking about how they apply what they already have to meet their development goals instead of bitching about not having enough.

Comments

[Barbara Short]

Very true, Paul Amatio. Well said!

I guess this means that it is OK for PNG people to go overseas to train so long as they return to PNG, and do not become part of the 'brain drain'.

[Paul Amatio]

Martin - You are quite correct.

The only problem with most of the people you describe and their type is that every time they see someone with a white skin, they suddenly suffer an inferiority complex syndrome.

They need someone like that to justify their very existence because, if somebody questions their conclusions on anything, they can always fall back on the fact that the recommendations, conclusions, findings, whatever was reached by some expatriate / consultant / white fella.

PNG needs the new class of nationals who were educated with and amoung white people and who are well aware that they can equal (and better) white / Asiatic people on a level playing field; who have confidence in their own abilities and capabilities to transform this nation.

Our grandparents thought they were gods. We know they are not. so we can work with them and alongside them, not necessarily for them or under them.

[Erick Kowa]

Spot on there Phil: ''It's just a matter of putting practicalities ahead of ego. Unfortunately most PNG men have very large egos''.

I could not agree more!

When you start to wonder how a Parliament with people like Somare, Amet, Parkop, Sir Julius and Philemon manage to have a speaker like Nape...

You start to make sense that in PNG decisions are not necessarily based on facts, logic and sound reasoning but rather on tribal loyalties, inuendos, assumptions, rumours, hear say and popularity of personality.

Traditionally Melanesians make decisions based on history and experience of cultural exchange within the tribe or family or with those outside of the tribal circle when it comes to leadership or any form of cultural and economic exchange.

Today's PNG has adopted a very material mindset which led us to the politics of envy decision making based on convenience.

We Papua New Guineans are our own worst enemy.

[Icarus]

Martyn, your assessment is spot on.

One other aspect is that the "can't be done" attitude of PNGeans is very demoralising for those of us who try our best to get work done successfully.

And that negativity is not unique to PNG leaders or managers.

For those young professionals out there who are faced with this problem on a daily basis, the only thing you can do is to keep striving for excellence.

Despite limitations in resources it's amazing what can be done when you set your mind to a task and keep at it.

Another aspect of this issue is our failure to put the right person in position to do the job that needs doing.

[Phil Fitzpatrick]

So the obvious solution to get PNG up to speed is to put expatriates in charge of key areas like health and education.

I don't think there is anything wrong with this approach; in our globalised world it is common practice in many countries.

PNG business owners certainly know this.

Its just a matter of putting practicalities ahead of ego. Unfortunately most PNG men have very large egos.

My major concern at the moment is what is going to happen to the Beachside Brasserie now that Ozzy has been kicked out.

[Paul Oates]

Martyn, you’ve raised the number one question. If PNGeans can and do very well away from their own country, why shouldn’t this also happen in PNG? That’s the ‘salat’ (nettle) that must be grasped.

Around 40 years ago, on patrol through the villages and after the Census had been completed, it would be time for a down to earth discussion with the people.

While the topics were fairly free ranging and usually centred on the price of coffee etc, inevitably we would get around to what would happen when we Australian Kiaps left PNG?

'Yupela inap’ was the central theme of this discussion. Yet cultural change can be a very slow process.

So what’s the problem? PNG people want results but are they prepared to change their culture to get those results? That’s the conundrum. Perhaps many other reasons then stem from this issue.

We obtain our cultural roots when we are very young. Most people find by the time they reach their teens, they have been imprinted with the culture they grew up with.

There are of course exceptions however as a general rule, this is an accepted norm.

The perception in the PNG villages of the ‘Big Man’ syndrome is a powerful image involving status and leadership.

To become a Big Man, certain prerequisites have to be fulfilled. Wealth must be generated and publicly given away in order to obtain status.

No obvious wealth = no status and it therefore becomes difficult to get an audience and a hearing or to get people to do your bidding.

A self fulfilling prophesy might then take over. If you know its not going to work, why bother trying? Also, if people take on a job, most people will want to know what’s in it for them? Selfless devotion might be a ‘driver’ for some but they are usually the exception.

Many years ago at a training course, the question was asked: ‘Could you sack Fred?’ Everyone knew of a ‘Fred’. He was the bloke who always turned up late, had an unironed shirt and gravy stains on his tie.

Fred had a large family and a mortgage but he was always happy to tell a joke and make people laugh. Unfortunately, Fred’s work just didn’t come up to speed.

He always had excuses why things just didn’t work out but he consistently couldn’t meet timetables and targets. So if you were Fred’s manager, after many pep talks and personal action plans that didn’t work, could you sack him? What about if Fred was a ‘wantok’?

Years ago when I was living in PNG, a mate from PNG called in unannounced to see my parents and say hello.

One of the things he commented on was how hard Australian people work down here (in Australia). You can draw your own conclusions from that observation.

Finally, to a city dweller down south living in a sterile metropolis of concrete and steel, the concept of paradise on earth is a warm climate with sandy beaches and waving palm trees.

[Barbara Short]

A good topic, Martyn.

I think the concept you are talking about is "enterprise". As an economics teacher I taught that the factors of production were Land, Labour, Capital and Enterprise.

In order for production of any kind, private or public, to take place, there has to be somebody with a bit of "up and go" - a bit of enterprise, to use the Land, Labour and Capital.

It is hard for people whose Mums and Dads were traditional farmers and fishermen to run things like the Department of Trade, the Reserve Bank etc, but they do and many do a good job.

I think Somare certainly had it. I think many PNG people do have it. You see it in good school Captains. I can give you a long list of my former students who have it.

I do hope O'Neill has it.