Article Review: Decentralization without Disintegration: Provincial Governments in Papua New Guinea, 1972-1985

This article primarily discusses the introduction and early challenges of decentralization in PNG. Political decentralization in terms of power sharing and delegation of roles between the national and provincial governments became a highly contentious issue prior to and after independence. At the focal point of the push for this move were the Bougainvillians. Their demands were heard, especially because of the island’s economic importance to PNG as the host of the Panguna Copper Mine, one of the world’s most lucrative mines at the time. Also, this paper outlines the historical elements that contributed to provincial decentralization and its legal connection to the Constitution Planning Committee. The author’s main aim was to assess the political atmosphere at the time leading up to and immediately after independence and how decentralization was carefully managed to avoid the disintegration of present-day PNG provinces.

This paper was written by research specialist Matthew Devlin and published by Innovations for Successful Societies (ISS) in April 2010. who is currently engaged with the Innovations for Successful Societies (ISS) project. Devlin holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University. Before engaging with ISS and specializing in historical works and government history, he was engaged with the Council on Foreign Relations, where he initiated and led the coordination of the council’s Religion and Foreign Policy initiative. Before joining the Council on Foreign Relations, Devlin engaged with other non-government organizations and wrote widely about corruption, colonial governments and their effects, and also general political ideologies. At present, he is pursuing a degree at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government while simultaneously pursuing a law degree at the Yale School of Law.

The formative era of PNG as an independent state began in the 1970s. After the House of Assembly election in 1972, the first native government was formed under the Pangu Pati. The Chief Minister was Michael Somare. Many people viewed independence as only a step closer to their goal of greater provincial autonomy. In particular, the Bougainvilles, led by Leo Hannett. The islanders argued that an independent PNG would be the same as the Australian colonial authorities, who managed the territory with a centralized system; there was simply no difference, and they were determined to control their own affairs. Thus, they demanded separation. However, this was against Somare’s aims to keep PNG united, and as a result, he advised the islanders to find an alternative. Somare felt obliged to compromise with Bougainville mainly because it housed the Panguna mine, which was the most important source of revenue for the national government at the time. And if a separation eventuated, this limited revenue would then be divided. For the islanders, if not separation, they demanded greater devolution of powers to the island or province.

This was the earliest challenge that the native government faced—keeping PNG intact. The Bougainvilles easily gained national attention because of Panguna. From 1971 to 1974, the native government witnessed a shift in public opinion from focusing on achieving independence to separating from PNG. Most Pangu Pati members did not support separation. They argued that if groups were given too much power and liberty, the worst that could happen was the total disintegration of a state that was not yet independent. Another obvious concern was the drafting of a constitution to carry the new state forward. The three institutions tasked with framing a response to the Bougainvilles were the Chief Minister's office, the Constitutional Planning Committee, and the Bougainville Special Political Committee.

Initially, Somare supported decentralization, but only to a certain extent so as not to threaten unity. In 1974, a wide range of consultations included a recommendation for decentralization that surpassed Somare’s expectations. Somare responded with a white paper. Although he was in favor of the idea, he was alarmed by the suggestion that provinces should have more power. As debates intensified between these two institutions, Bougainvilleans built a de facto provincial government. As tensions grew, negotiations over copper revenue broke down. This pushed Somare to strike out all consideration of a provincial government in the draft constitution.

This had left the Bougainvilleans with secession as their only option. As a result, the island declared independence as the Republic of North Solomons on September 1. On the sixteenth, PNG gained its political independence, but this was not talked about as much as the fact that decentralization had divided the country even before independence.

Somare only agreed to amend the constitution as suggested by the CPC to cater to provincial governments because he knew that the situation was quickly intensifying and that if he did not reach a compromise, other areas would also demand separation. However, the powers given to the provincial governments were outlined in the organic law. This ensured that the national government always had overall authority, acting on the constitution as the higher law. This change was finalized and came into effect in 1977 as the Organic Law on Provincial Governments. It outlined the structure, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the provincial government. This was an achievement for the Bougainvilleans, Somare, and his ministers. To not only reach a compromise but also maintain order and still have overall authority. However, this new change brought about a lot of problems.

Bougainville was at the forefront of this movement, but the government allowed this law to be applicable to all provinces. This was important because making an exception for Bougainville would only fuel resentment and lead to future recessions; this was the government’s attempt to cater for problems that may arise. Under the law, the provincial governments were allowed to elect their own representatives without national influence. Another advantage was the provincial assembly’s control over the local government. This meant that any activity or development intended for the local government would have to go through the provincial government. This separation had disrupted the existing web of relations where the national government worked closely with the local level governments in terms of service delivery.

Some of the main problems the new establishment faced were with service delivery. Because the national representatives had to go through their provincial counterparts to deliver services, much of the attention was given to the provincial leaders. And thus, they used this opportunity to run for national office. As this problem became more common, national leaders held back services to the people. The same issue arose with the provincial grants that each province received to aid development.

It has been 12 years since this paper was written and 50 years since 1972, when the notion of decentralization surfaced in PNG’s history. However, the effects of the decisions made then are still felt today, and I believe they will be here for a long time to come, mainly because all of these activities were closely related to the drafting of the constitution.

In reflection, the main argument that ignited the secessionist movement was the management of affairs by the Australian colonial authority. Australians had used a centralized system, and because Bougainvilleans had a negative view and experience of this system, it was clear to them that after independence, they would be subjected to the same fate, hence their push for separation. This birthed the most challenging task of Somare’s inexperienced government, which was to keep PNG intact before and after independence.

One of the main areas that the author failed to write on was the reasons why ethnic groups sought separation as soon as a native government took office. An assessment of the colonial administration would clearly point out that the demand to separate was a culmination of bad experiences that the native people had with the colonial authority. It is obvious but not discussed thoroughly in the paper that Somare inherited a government that had a damaged government-to-people relationship. Whatever these damages may be, from discriminatory laws to lack of opportunities to unfair treatment and distribution of goods and services, all of these drove ethnic groups such as the Papua Besena and Bougainvilles to quickly seek separation even before independence in 1972. However, the Bougainvilleans took the lead because they had leverage over the Panguna Copper Mine.

The earliest challenge for the first native government was to keep PNG intact before and after independence. And the main argument by the Pangu Pati members was that if more power was given to small groups, they would eventually sail into greater autonomy and separate from PNG. In retrospect, this would have happened because many ethnic groups strongly desired separation and were, as discussed, willing to go to whatever extreme it took to obtain this freedom. Their argument for this notion and Somare’s swift actions to reach a compromise—the delicate balance—to allow a certain degree of devolution of power and keep PNG intact at the same time It was one thing to push for and gain independence, and it was another to contain internal pressure as an immature and inexperienced native government. This is a significant achievement for the first politicians of PNG.

The CPC’s work was also crucial in this period; their inclusion of power delegation to provincial governments in the draft constitution influenced changes to occur. Somare initially challenged this proposition; however, as tensions grew in Bougainville, he reconsidered the advice of the CPC, from which the Organic Law on Provincial Governments was created, to reach an important compromise that eased concession tensions and also kept PNG intact.

In summary, this article mainly analyzes the early struggles and challenges that the first government faced. Specifically, the push for secession, or simply to separate from PNG, IT also assessed how the first native government managed these issues: two of the most talked about were to keep PNG intact, and the other was to reach a compromise by giving limited power to provincial governments. As a result of this, many other issues surfaced, including how to manage and fund the newly established provincial governments and the deteriorating relationship between national representatives and provincial leaders. In essence, this paper assessed the notion of decentralization and PNG’s experience.