mikail-eagle
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Former Chairmen ALBERT VERATAU and Garry Juffa represent two clashing ideologies. Veratauism consists of building the rugby league code by forging strong relations with a major partner who will provide financial and technical support.
It reached an epitome in our relations with Australia when former prime minister Rudd pulled strings to get the ball rolling contemplating a 2015 National Rugby League entry for a PNG team.
At the operational level we saw a mass injection of technical assistance. A whole bunch of blokes flooded our shores bringing goodies. The Pacific Cup saw a full team of dimdims. Setting up the PA system, touch judges, promotion and marketing consultants, even water boys.
Why even the great Adrian Lam looked far and wide in the great southland for Kumuls. Recruited them from the north all the way to the south, and boy they put on a show. Trashing every Pacific country that came our way.
It was something and Veratauism had prevailed in bringing the code much needed attention.
However, the flaw in Veratauism, and one that persists in PNG foreign and investment relations, is its inability to be absorbed and sustained in national institutions.
In this case, the PNGRFLs inability to sustain human and financial capacity. So when the assistance comes, itll be mostly spent on consultants from down under and the four million evaporates.
The support services will likely all come from Australia, and will have no long term capacity-building potential for the PNGRFL staff and management. With continuous recruitment of big boys from Australia to play for the Kumuls, local talent is denied and therefore there is no exposure.
A more nationalistic intervention is attractive. And that is exactly what Juffaism brought. Nationalism + Discontent = Take Over.
With whispered neglect of affiliated associations all over the country, Juffa funded a meeting in Lae in 2009 which voted him as President.
It mattered little to the affiliated members of Rudd and Somares Rugby Aid, multimillion dollar sponsorships or Lams predominantly southland Kumuls.
At the end of the day, all that mattered to the voters was that associations were not progressing and, for some, that their boys were been denied a Kumul jumper.
In true Juffaism, Verataus pale crowd was chased out and Lams southland Kumuls flew away. But has this improved our game?
I dont know, but what is clear is that there are no winners. As much as Juffa wants to bang the nationalistic drum, he needs technical assistance in management, commercialisation of the game and training programs to enhance the code.
While credit must be given to Veratau for bringing these activities, developing long term programs, recruitment of local based experts in formulating marketing, and planning must be in full and genuine consultation with PNG counterparts.
There are examples all over our country of why development assistance collapses and it is largely due to blueprints brought from Canberra and stamped into Waigani without inputs from PNG officials.
Veratau or Juffa, Lam or Gene, win or lose, one thing is for sure, the Kumuls are an instrument of inspiration and change.
Kids sit around the fire places in Kabaufa talking about the mighty Lahanas, boys paddling down the fly river chatter about the Kumul speedsters, school yard fights over who should be David Mead, and supporters like me go nuts looking for Kumul memorabilia.
Sport is capable of great things. Jesse Owens defied the irrational Nazi propaganda of Aryan superiority. Mandela and Pienaar united a nation on the brink of civil war. And who can ever forget what Pini gave PNG.
PNGRFL and the Kumuls dont need wins, they need leaders.
http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2010/10/its-our-game-and-it-inspires-a-nation.html
It reached an epitome in our relations with Australia when former prime minister Rudd pulled strings to get the ball rolling contemplating a 2015 National Rugby League entry for a PNG team.
At the operational level we saw a mass injection of technical assistance. A whole bunch of blokes flooded our shores bringing goodies. The Pacific Cup saw a full team of dimdims. Setting up the PA system, touch judges, promotion and marketing consultants, even water boys.
Why even the great Adrian Lam looked far and wide in the great southland for Kumuls. Recruited them from the north all the way to the south, and boy they put on a show. Trashing every Pacific country that came our way.
It was something and Veratauism had prevailed in bringing the code much needed attention.
However, the flaw in Veratauism, and one that persists in PNG foreign and investment relations, is its inability to be absorbed and sustained in national institutions.
In this case, the PNGRFLs inability to sustain human and financial capacity. So when the assistance comes, itll be mostly spent on consultants from down under and the four million evaporates.
The support services will likely all come from Australia, and will have no long term capacity-building potential for the PNGRFL staff and management. With continuous recruitment of big boys from Australia to play for the Kumuls, local talent is denied and therefore there is no exposure.
A more nationalistic intervention is attractive. And that is exactly what Juffaism brought. Nationalism + Discontent = Take Over.
With whispered neglect of affiliated associations all over the country, Juffa funded a meeting in Lae in 2009 which voted him as President.
It mattered little to the affiliated members of Rudd and Somares Rugby Aid, multimillion dollar sponsorships or Lams predominantly southland Kumuls.
At the end of the day, all that mattered to the voters was that associations were not progressing and, for some, that their boys were been denied a Kumul jumper.
In true Juffaism, Verataus pale crowd was chased out and Lams southland Kumuls flew away. But has this improved our game?
I dont know, but what is clear is that there are no winners. As much as Juffa wants to bang the nationalistic drum, he needs technical assistance in management, commercialisation of the game and training programs to enhance the code.
While credit must be given to Veratau for bringing these activities, developing long term programs, recruitment of local based experts in formulating marketing, and planning must be in full and genuine consultation with PNG counterparts.
There are examples all over our country of why development assistance collapses and it is largely due to blueprints brought from Canberra and stamped into Waigani without inputs from PNG officials.
Veratau or Juffa, Lam or Gene, win or lose, one thing is for sure, the Kumuls are an instrument of inspiration and change.
Kids sit around the fire places in Kabaufa talking about the mighty Lahanas, boys paddling down the fly river chatter about the Kumul speedsters, school yard fights over who should be David Mead, and supporters like me go nuts looking for Kumul memorabilia.
Sport is capable of great things. Jesse Owens defied the irrational Nazi propaganda of Aryan superiority. Mandela and Pienaar united a nation on the brink of civil war. And who can ever forget what Pini gave PNG.
PNGRFL and the Kumuls dont need wins, they need leaders.
http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2010/10/its-our-game-and-it-inspires-a-nation.html
