Prime Minister Marape Demonstrates True Leadership In Opting To Resign

Prime Minister Marape demonstrates true leadership in opting to resign It is rare for a Prime Minister, Premier or President of any given nation to opt to resign from office instantly if found guilty of having committed a crime over controversial State deals.

July 4, 2019

It is rare for a Prime Minister, Premier or President of any given nation to opt to resign from office instantly if found guilty of having committed a crime over controversial State deals.

In this case it is PNG’s newly elected Prime Minister James Marape who genuinely told Parliament yesterday he would not have any qualms at all about resigning from office if he is found guilty of having breached any law relating to the scandalous K4 billion UBS loan.

It only takes leaders of integrity, standing and uprightness to openly declare their commitment to the high office they hold to make such a bold and daring statement.

Too often leaders do not readily want to declare themselves subject to the laws of the land but try their utmost best to circumvent and prolong the legal process to ensure they are not subjected to close and detailed scrutiny over scandalous deals involving public money and resources.

The nation is actually watching the new leadership right now in light of the revelations of the Ombudsman Commission report into the UBS loan which highlight the path played by this country’s top leaders and bureaucrats when the money was obtained for the purposes of buying into Oil Search. The deal is so complex that the ordinary person will not have any idea of how these sort of complicated arrangements are made. Why it is complicated is because it involves mega dollars and international financial advisers, financial institutions, banks, legal companies and a host of specialist consultants.

Being the leader of a nation is a special calling, a personal ambition, commitment and sometimes can be by default depending on whatever the political circumstances that prevail at any given time. Other reasons are intentional when there is a need to change the leadership of a country where circumstances are no longer conducive for a functioning democracy or where there is rampant corruption. Other reasons include financial and economic crisis where the leadership of a nation blindly leads its populace into believing well orchestrated announcements of resilient progress to the contrary. Prime Minister Marape exited from the O’Neill government in protest over certain decisions made by the executive government together with his now Deputy Prime Minister Davis Steven.

They both protested actions which seemingly were not in the national interest and perhaps did not adhere to the legal requirements of the laws governing the country. They are both commended for their brave stands despite their having had to forego their ministerial privileges when they did so.

For Prime Minister Marape, he has taken that conscious decision to step down from the land’s highest office if found guilty of any wrongdoing over the UBS scandal. There has to be a bench mark set for leadership requirements of this country where they have to resign instantly from office when confronted with such controversial questions over their ability to hold such high office.

Post Courier Editorial