‘Don’t repeat 1995 mistakes’: Sir Puka Temu warns against rushed constitutional reforms

Senior statesman and Member for Abau, Sir Puka Temu, has cautioned the National Parliament against rushing into constitutional changes, warning that the country must avoid repeating the disastrous mistakes of the 1995 provincial government reforms.

Contributing to the debate on the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission [CLRC] report, the five-term MP told the House that while reform is necessary, the state's institutions are currently not strong enough to absorb big load of changes.

Sir Puka spoke of the 1995 Organic Law on Provincial and Local-level Governments, which he used as a classic example of breaking a system that was already working.

"The tap was not leaking and it was changed. It was badly structured from the start and has undergone many, many amendments since," Sir Puka said. "If we push for major reforms when the country is not ready, our institutions will not be able to administer the changes."

The former Deputy Prime Minister did not hold back on the current state of the public service, arguing that too many tentacles of politics are strangling service delivery.

He said bureaucracy has been politicized, provincialized, and districtalized, leading to a culture where appointments are based on loyalty rather than merit.

"This instrument that is supposed to be the vehicle for delivery of public goods and services has been paralyzed because of politics," he said.

Sir Puka compared Papua New Guinea’s lack of progress to its Southeast Asian neighbors. He said 50 years ago, PNG and Malaysia shared similar socio-economic status, but PNG is now 50 years behind.

Qouating Albert Einstein, he said: "If we keep on doing the same things and expect a different result, we are wasting our time. We cannot keep doing the same things and not achieving the outcomes we want."

Sir Puka called for a structured national conversation rather than political infighting. Among his key recommendations to the House were; reform of Section 145, ending the wrong process of changing Prime Ministers every 18 months and strengthening the party system. Amending laws so the party with the highest number of seats automatically forms government without a floor vote. He challenged the Attorney General to identify and repeal outdated laws that act as structural impediments to growth. He also suggested a team from both sides of parliament to scrutinize the CLRC report.

While thanking Prime Minister James Marape for his leadership and the CLRC team for their nationwide consultations, Sir Puka urged the Executive Government to take charge of a slow and managed transition.

"The people's wish expressed in the report has to be structurally and slowly managed because major reforms we cannot absorb because our institutions are not ready," he concluded.