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The socio-environmental features and characteristics of both islands, Kiriwina and
Goodenough, are very similar despite the fact that the former is made up of coral atolls,
and the latter is predominantly volcanic in geological formation. Kiriwina had about
30000 people while the latter had 21000 with 16000 and 9999 eligible voters,
respectively. Majority of the people are subsistence gardeners, fishers and hunters
comprising some 9945 households with 25,738 males and 24,228 females for both islands
(2000 National census).
Each has a high school, a health center, and numerous community schools from grades 1
to 8, including the Top-Up level. Each also has a separate Rural Local Level Government
and together they have 51 wards with about 138 villages in all. Lack of regular supply of
medicine, teachers going without pay or, continuously been distracted by cultural
obligations, kids electing not to attend schools, kids starving at the high schools and/or
dropping out due to unaffordable educational fees are well known stories among the
island voters. To them, these are real issues as constant reminders of their life-long
predicaments. And yet too often these issues are relegated to individual level as private
family matters. Communal cooperative attention is not usually thought of nor advocated
upon.
The daily meal of a Kiriwina-Goodenough person comprise of vegetables (yams, taros,
sweet potatoes, and manioc) and rice with a rare treat of fish, pork and packaged fish and
meat. The vegetable markets operate on irregular basis and are mostly unreliable in terms
of supply. The cash flow is often low and only sustained by at least six major stores for
the two islands. Since the beginning of the last century, beche-de-mer and shark fin
harvesting had been but intermittent. Of late however, and thanks to the sustained efforts
of late Dennis Young, export of marine products from the island has been on an increase
since the 1990s. A lot more coastal locals are involved and heavily dependent on these
activities as a more attractive avenue for cash generation.
Sources of cash income is limited to remittance from urban-based relatives, occasional
sales of wood carvings to tourists, fish, vegetables, lime powder from burnt coral, betel
and areca however usually serving as middlemen to the areca suppliers from neighboring
islands, including Goodenough.
Fast declining soil fertility and exponential growth of population concomitant with rising
pressure on limited fertile land amidst shorter fallow periods only worsens the situation
(see Poschl & Poschl, 1985). Consequently, an overall disintegration of social order,
respect and ethical conduct has alarmingly set in. People are only superficially happy
thereby belying the reality felt within.
In a nutshell, voters for Kiriwina-Goodenough Open seat are vulnerable to lures of any
form of material wealth as they are materially poverty-stricken. This certainly leaves the
gates wide open for the desperate and selfish candidates.
My own assessment of the 2007 candidate line up for the seat was that for the first time
the voters were presented with a good range of candidates to choose from. This was in
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