Corruption is Sinking PNG the Same Way the Pumice Crisis is – Does James Marape Need a Miracle?

by Michael J. Passingan

The thick pumice rafts choking Manus waters and blocking boats are not just a volcanic nuisance. They are a perfect metaphor for how corruption is systematically sinking Papua New Guinea under Prime Minister James Marape. Both problems isolate communities, destroy livelihoods, smother productive systems, and leave ordinary citizens to fend for themselves while leaders issue statements and order assessments.

In Manus, floating pumice has turned the sea into a barrier. Small boats cannot reach fishing grounds or clinics. Families are burning through drinking water because they cannot bathe in the sea. Relief has not arrived weeks after the crisis began; only more teams taking notes. This slow, bureaucratic response is not an accident of nature. It reflects years of weakened institutions where resources meant for disaster preparedness, early warning systems, and provincial capacity have been diverted or poorly managed. Corruption does exactly the same thing on a national scale. It clogs the machinery of government with patronage, inflated contracts, and political appointments that prioritise loyalty over competence. The result is the same isolation felt in Baon village: the nation is stuck, unable to move forward on basic services or crisis response.

PNG’s resource wealth should be a buffer against such shocks. Yet billions from LNG, mining, and fisheries have produced little visible resilience in remote provinces. When an undersea volcano erupts, communities are left manually clearing rock while the state debates assessments. This mirrors the broader pattern where public funds disappear into opaque deals and connected interests, leaving hospitals under-equipped, roads unbuilt, and disaster agencies underfunded. The same elite networks that benefit from resource rents have little incentive to build systems that would hold them accountable or prepare the country for predictable geological risks. Corruption does not just steal money; it erodes the state’s ability to protect its own people.

Both crises are persistent. Pumice can drift for months or years, re-accumulating and damaging reefs and mangroves long after the eruption ends. Corruption scandals, governance failures, and international warnings about money laundering have similarly lingered, damaging investor confidence and institutional trust for a generation. Each new crisis exposes the same underlying weakness: a political culture more focused on managing appearances than delivering results.

James Marape now faces a visible test in Manus while the country grapples with deeper structural problems. More visits and more assessments will not clear the pumice or rebuild eroded institutions. What is required is decisive action against the networks that have hollowed out the state. Without it, PNG risks remaining permanently becalmed—its people cut off from opportunity, its environment degraded, and its future mortgaged to the same forces that turn natural events into prolonged disasters. The Prime Minister may hope for a miracle. The country needs something more reliable: genuine accountability and a functioning state.