Conflicts between National Aims in Papua New Guinea: The Case of Decentralization and Equality

Papua New Guinea is currently attempting to establish a decentralized, but at the same time more regionally equal, society, given its present conditions of highly centralized government, wide regional inequalities, & the desire of a few key provinces for high autonomy. In addition, the government hopes to attain a higher level of economic self-reliance. Regional equality is given more emphasis than personal equality, despite the fact that three major groups have attained an elite status: high-level civil servants, Ur businessmen, & large farmers. Official statistics reveal substantial inequalities in both current economic state & governmental development efforts. Political pressure from the North Solomons province led to creation of formal arrangements for transfer of functions from the central government to the provinces, but this is the only province to have benefitted from the arrangement. A stable pattern of provincial inequality appears to be emerging that the national government is too weak to counteract. 4 Tables, 1 Figure. W. H. Stoddard.