Why PNG is being screwed over by a corrupt Government

by Michael J. Passingan

Papua New Guinea’s government under Prime Minister James Marape is fundamentally fucked a toxic mix of chronic corruption, incompetence, and elite self-interest that continues to screw ordinary citizens while the ruling class gets richer. The recent K200 million SME funding scandal perfectly encapsulates the problem. Minister Daki’s wife and associates allegedly received millions through companies like Sprout Finance and others, while genuine small businesses struggle for crumbs. This isn’t an isolated mistake. It’s the standard operating procedure of a government that treats public money as a private buffet.
Corruption runs deep. Scandals involving politically connected companies, questionable contracts, and vanished public funds have become routine under Marape. The SME fiasco with allegations extending to household employees and political allies pocketing over a million each shows how procurement and funding processes are allegedly rigged for insiders. Transparency is non-existent. Full recipient lists, selection criteria, and audits remain hidden, eroding whatever trust remains. Marape talks “servant leadership,” yet his ministers appear to serve themselves and their networks first. This nepotism doesn’t just waste money it kills opportunity for ordinary Papua New Guineans who actually need capital to create jobs.
The economy tells the same miserable story. Despite resource wealth, most citizens see little benefit. Inflation bites, infrastructure crumbles, and basic services are a joke in many provinces. Health centres lack medicine, schools lack teachers, and roads remain death traps. Youth unemployment fuels crime, while law and order collapses in many areas. Foreign investment hesitates because of policy unpredictability and the well-earned reputation for graft. Marape’s government has failed to translate mineral and LNG riches into broad-based development. Instead, money flows upward to the connected few.
Governance standards have collapsed. Oversight institutions are weak or politicised. The Ombudsman Commission and Auditor-General seem perpetually overwhelmed or ignored when big names are involved. Political loyalty often trumps competence in appointments, producing ministers more focused on survival and enrichment than results. The SME scandal is symptomatic: public funds meant to empower SMEs are allegedly diverted, leaving real entrepreneurs excluded. This entrenches poverty and inequality in a country that can barely afford it.
Social indicators remain dire. Maternal and child mortality, illiteracy, and rural neglect persist at shameful levels years into Marape’s tenure. Promises of reform and anti-corruption drives have delivered more rhetoric than results. Every exposed scandal chips away at public faith, breeding apathy or anger. Citizens watch their taxes and resource revenues disappear into private companies linked to politicians while they battle daily survival.
This government is fucked because it prioritises patronage networks over national interest. Until Marape’s administration embraces genuine transparency, independent investigations, and ruthless accountability including consequences for ministers like Daki the cycle will continue. Public money will keep becoming private opportunity. Ordinary Papua New Guineans will keep paying the price through lost opportunities, broken services, and deepening poverty.
Real change requires more than new slogans. It demands cleaning house, empowering watchdogs, and putting merit and fairness above political connections. Without that, PNG’s government will remain exactly what it looks like today: captured, ineffective, and profoundly fucked.