Table of Contents
The late Mathew Kohai, a health adviser with the Department of Southern Highlands, still could not accept the recent developments in Mendi. Having lived there all his life, the Manus Islander was baffled that the once peaceful province is now a place of lawlessness. He sought answers, attempting to identify a particular cause, but could not find one. He recalled the days when systems were functional and public servants like himself were keen to work in the province. He was adamant that things would improve and had no intention of being transferred elsewhere.
The rest of the province is still banking on the hope that the province will return to normalcy. In the meantime, Mendi is still facing petty crime. Tari is constantly being tormented by armed thugs. Despite police presence, lawlessness continues on the peripheries, though in Ialibu, Kagua, Erave, and Pangia the law and order challenges are less. Public servants are fearful for their lives, and people have migrated to Port Moresby and elsewhere in the country.
The Southern Highlands Province has moved from an unknown province to an important source of revenue for the country. In the early 1990s successive governments placed emphasis on the discovery of oil and gas. Along with this came the opening up of new roads to wealth and influence, as well as social disharmony. The eastern end of the province[1] has better road access to neighbouring Western Highlands Province, has enjoyed better health and government services, and has greater business opportunities. Lawlessness, anarchy and a general deterioration of government services have occurred more in the central and western ends of the province, which include Mendi and Nipa, where there have been roadblocks and tribal feuds, and Tari, which has been characterised by vandalism and lack of respect for law and order. The province’s wealth is also concentrated in the central and western end of the province, which are blessed with natural resources and enjoy a lion’s share of the proceeds from them through royalties and tax credit scheme funded infrastructural projects.
This paper will provide an overview of the province, seek to establish the causes of the present unrest, and examine what needs to be done to resolve the problems. However, it is not easy to find quick solutions.
It is believed that the Southern Highlands was settled nearly 20,000 years ago, based upon the dating of grinding tools found in Mendi. It was not until the mid-1930s, however, that exploratory patrols visited the Southern Highlands and opened it to the world.
Clarke (1982:15) notes that the first school in the province was established at Lake Kubutu in 1953, some eighteen years after first patrols entered the area. Schools were subsequently established at Mendi, Tari and Ialibu, and thence the more remote parts of the province. It was not until 1967 that the first secondary school in the province was established.
As the Southern Highlands was a slow starter, prominent Southern Highlanders travelled elsewhere for their education. Former politicians Sir Wiwa Korowi (Southern Highlands provincial member 1977-1982 and 1987-1991) and Peter Peipul (MP for Imbonggu 1997-2000) received their education at Awaba High School in the Western Province. Three-term Ialibu-Pangia MP, Roy Yaki (1987-2002) went to the Asaroka Lutheran High School. Other prominent Southern Highlanders were educated in the Western Highlands.
Little by little, development came to the province under the colonial administration. The Australian Army established an engineers’ base in Mendi, and was involved in much of the province’s civil and infrastructure development until their departure in 1996. According to Terry Boyce, who was a commanding officer of the unit and provincial works manager, the army was often asked to mediate disputes (quoted in Marjen 1981). The army engineers did an excellent job; at one stage, Southern Highlands was said to have the best Works department in the entire country.