P-Ng Experiments With

Village Councils

rHE Papua-New Guinea Village Councils Ordinance came into existence in 1949 and since then a lumber of Village Councils have ieen set up, mostly in the more idvanced areas around Port Moresby and Rabaul.

The term “Village Council” is somewhat misleading as, in practice, he Council consists of representa tives of about 22 villages and it has been suggested that Area Council vould have been a more accurate term.

These Councils are designed as a first step towards democratic, self government and it is too early yet o say whether they are likely to be a success or a failure in this regard.

Fhe die-hard conservative element in he Territory—which is the majority —will probably see nothing good in them; and those whose brain-children they are, probably say that if we are ;o give more than lip-service to this idea of ultimate self-government for P-NG natives, then we have to start somewhere and Village Councils are is good a way as any.

The Councils are designed to supersede the old system, inherited from German days, of government appointed village luluais and tul-tuls .

Fhese men were, in effect, a liaison between the Administration, or local Europeans, and the villagers. Theo retically, they probably had some sort of village responsibilities, such as seeing that their underlings kept the roads cleared, but their civic •esponsibilities did not weigh leavily upon them. A peaked navy alue cap with a red band was handed aut as a badge of office and this, perched on top of a mop of fuzzy tiair, was the only outward manifesta tion of authority.

If a European wanted any carry ing done, houses built or jobs of that sort, it was the local tul-tul or luluai he saw about it. He “greased” his hand with money or trade goods and then it was left to the luluai to brow beat or persuade the villagers into ioing the job. How successful he was iepended on his own personality md standing in the village; judging ay some results some of these Gov ernment appointees were, indeed, prophets without honour on their awn stamping ground.

Not even the most ardent hankerer ifter the good old days can claim nuch for the luluai and tul-tul sys :em. However, it is early days yet ;o say whether the more positive

Council system is the logical step to self-government either. It has some features that are already causing mis givings in some quarters.

Councillors are elected annually by all who have paid their taxes.

Elections on Western pattern are a revolutionary step in the Melanesian scheme of things. Traditionally, the headman of a village became so because he gave bigger and better

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easts than anyone else. He was able o give feasts because he grew more ood than anyone else and he grew nore food because he was more en erprising and energetic or, one way »r another, got more people to toil or him: the old story of any suc essful man, white or coloured.

He was not formally elected; over he years he became to be regarded as he head man of the community and le remained so until some other nan, more enterprising and energetic, ook his place.

What are now considered to be he desirable qualifications for Village Councillors is not clear, but the dethodist Mission, which is watching he new experiment with interest, eems to have some doubts about his aspect. In an article in a recent Missionary Review, the Rev. R. S. irown, has this to say: “A disappointing feature of the rst elections has been the number of nembers elected who are not of the ighest moral calibre. In some cases [responsible young men have been lected, and their progressiveness is •ften not related at all to the culture nd traditions of the life of their icople.”

Misgivings

Mr. Brown’s misgivings seem to be •orne out by the fact that, as re >orted in PIM and some Australian iewspapers, one of the first efforts •f one of these Councils was a desire o change the old matrilineal system •f inheritance to a patrilineal system, f any European had had the teme ity to suggest this, every anthropolo ;ist in the world would have creamed his head off.

A European Assistant District )fficer has been appointed to over se the work of the Councils. He rill attend meetings and instruct ouncillors, but the idea seems to be o hand over as much local govern rent to the Councils as possible, fhey will raise their own taxes and >rovide from them for village im novements such as education, sani ation, road maintenance, various milding projects and the payment )f councillors and a council clerk.

Taxes at present are £4 per mnum for every adult male and £1 )er adult female if she wishes to lave a vote. Even in these days, £4 s a considerable sum for a native to ind and the paying of it will mean lardship for some. Mr. Brown luotes the case of pastor-teachers, laying that this sum is a quarter of heir yearly salary and they cannot

afford to pay it. They hesitate to go before the court of appeal that is provided, as they feel that this is humiliating —New Guinea natives have an acute sense of what they call “shame” and what an Oriental would probably call “face”—and the Mission finds itself in the position of having to find the tax for them.

What do the natives themselves think of the project? According to Mr. Brown, who has made a study of it, some are fearful of the power of the Councils once they become firmly established. Others feel that it is good to have money at their own disposal for some of the things for which they have long been impatient —education, for example. However,

as Mr. Brown remarks, they have yet to find that money will not cure all and although they can build the village schools there is, as yet, not enough trained teachers for all.

The experiment is an interesting one and although it has already attracted the attention of the calamity howlers, and been decried as window dressing for UN, it is one that is best regarded with an open mind at this stage.

P-NG is at least 50 years behind Fiji in this attempt at local native government although it is as well to remember that Fiji had a more homogeneous society on which to build in the first place, and that such Western democratic principles as

iave been adopted, have been modi ied and absorbed gradually, not hrust suddenly upon the Fijians by mtsiders.