Pitfalls of localisation

PNG Minister for Finance Julius Chan , in a speech to sub-branch managers of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation warned of the dangers of rapid promotion of Papua New Guineans for the sake of localisation.

Mr Chan said the real meaning of localisation was not the promotion of a fete black faces into senior jobs but to create a situation where institutions can become genuinely Papua New Guinean, in tune with national aspirations and able to meet the people’s needs.

Papua New Guinean executives should be able to meet these require ments better than expatriates, but only if they were really prepared to take responsibility. Mr Chan said it was all too easy to learn the negative parts of a job; how to delay; how to go through “proper channels”; how to say ‘no’ because it is safer than saying ‘yes’. If that was to be the result of localisation , where young executives were not ready for responsibility , it would be a waste of time and the country would be worse off than before. The Finance Minister said the public would be better served by efficient , dynamic officers , regardless of whether they were black or white.