PATRICK NOMOS
THE Papua New Guinea government’s reckless borrowing from international lending institutions and foreign governments in recent years is well documented.
The result of these poor borrowing habits by the national government is an uncertain future for PNG, which is now faced with massive accumulated debts that are unlikely ever to be repaid.
What is less well known is the possible origin of the national leaders’ borrowing habits – dinau.
Dinau is described in the Tok Pisin-English dictionary as debts or obligations.
A dinau is incurred when a person receives goods, cash or services from a provider without payment on the understanding that this debt will be promptly discharged, usually on an agreed date.
If the transaction is honoured, dinau provides the borrower with a means of obtaining goods, cash or services at times of scarce finances.
While many Papua New Guineans regard dinau as a part of their culture, it is in fact an important factor in constraining the nation’s economic development, from village level up to the national government.
When a dinau is not honoured by the borrower it may be described as “borrowing in bad faith”. At the time of the transaction there may be an intention on the part of the borrower to repay the dinau but this erodes over time to the point where there is little or no honouring.
If the person to whom the dinau is owed requests repayment from the borrower, this will most likely be met with a promise to repay the debt in the immediate future.
Further approaches by the lender are likely to lead to growing resentment by the borrower, leading to a breakdown in good relations between the two.
The resentment comes about by the borrower blaming the lender for agreeing to the dinau, the non-repayment of which has become an embarrassment.
In villages across PNG, dishonoured dinau hampers the efforts of smallholders trying to earn a few kina by selling local tobacco, betel nut or garden produce to fellow villages.
Close relatives and extended family members are often the worst offenders when it comes to demanding dinau in this situation. Fund-raising activities such as bazaars for churches and schools are similarly hampered by dishonoured dinau.
Dotted throughout PNG villages are trade stores and fuel depots that have been forced to close because, sooner or later, dishonoured dinau reduces their cash flow to the point where the operators are unable to purchase new stock.
If store operators refuse dinau to customers, particularly members of the extended family, they are likely to be regarded as behaving selfishly and shunned by other villagers.
Having learned such bad borrowing habits as they were growing up in PNG villages where dinau is regarded as acceptable, many national parliamentarians appear to be applying the same principle to PNG’s overseas borrowings.
During Greece’s recent financial crisis, some commentators blamed village-based financial practices being applied to national government borrowing as a major factor in creating the problem.
Although it’s too late for the current crop of PNG politicians to improve their poor attitude to borrowing, an opportunity exists for PNG educational institutions to promote recognition of the threat that dinau poses to the nation’s economy.
In time, PNG students can be educated to pay their own pay in society, rather than becoming free-loaders on the hard work of their fellow citizens.