‘Good governance’ was listed first amongst the objectives of the Somare government’s Program for Recovery and Development. In an address to the National Parliament in August 2002, the prime minister elaborated the goals for good governance:
Strengthening the democratic process;
Political stability at all levels of government;
Efficient and effective delivery of government services;
A sound regulatory framework; and
Transparency and accountability.
These were to be achieved through an all-encompassing program of public sector reform (MTDS 2005–2010, 53–57).
A Strategic Plan for Supporting Public Sector Reform in Papua New Guinea 2003–2007 (hereafter Strategic Plan) was presented in November 2003.
In an introductory statement to the Strategic Plan, Prime Minister Somare commented that on taking office in 2002 his government found that progress had been made on many aspects of the reform program initiated by the previous government, but ‘felt it was essential to reframe and to more sharply focus what had, by then, proved to be an overly ambitious reform agenda’.
The key objectives of public sector reform for 2003–7 were listed as:
A public sector with a clear sense of direction;
Affordable government;
Improving performance, accountability and compliance; and
Improving service delivery.
The Strategic Plan lists a series of strategies and ‘broadly stated’ indicators under each of these headings.