Comments

What a brilliant and informative piece Uate. Kudos to MSP and IPPF for walking the talk. When alot has been said about HIV increases in the last few years in Fiji, the actions of this moonlight initiative is addressing exactly the fight against prevention and action on HIV. Thank you for shedding light into the trusted work and important work of Peer educators whilst also addressing the need for trust, relationship building and creating a safe space to access this services where it's needed the most. All the very best to the team in navigating and providing services to the most marginalized members of our society.

My sincere thanks to the Devpolicy blog team for publishing this blog post, so as to highlight an important issue and draw our attention to a recently-published report. I would also like to thank Paul Barker and Martin Davies for their efforts on this blog post. I met Jerry Hensen on numerous occasions at events at the Institute of National Affairs and elsewhere around Port Moresby. I remember him as being polite, courteous, friendly and encouraging. I am saddened to learn of his death. Thanks again to all involved in this initiative. It is great to see Jerry’s advocacy highlighted in this way. Amanda

Great piece Bradley. Well done. Always good to see analysis coming out of PNG that is backed up by credible evidence.

I'm very interested to get employment with as a logistics officer like receiving medical items, sending items to air transport and sea transport to maritime provinces. I have experience with city pharmacy, 6 years experience working.

Thanks Bradley - your work has been really insightful. The question you pose is one of 'equity in planning' - it is a perennial challenge across all planning systems around the world. I've spent a few years travelling to observe how cities treat those living outside the formal housing system whether illegally or otherwise. I am never as surprised by the treatment from the government as I am by the formal residents of the cities in the way they talk about those who they see as 'a problem that needs to be solved'. It is shameful but reflects the politics of the willing. If there was willingness in society, the politics would priorities equitable development. As a planner and a Papua New Guinean who worked between several planning systems, I can say that there is only so much that planners can do to ensure equity in planning. Legislation and governance limit our authority and arena for responsibility. The 'urban policy' you refer too lies in our physical planning act from 1990 but the act is not the framework for how development occurs in this country, it only outlines the process to get to an approval. A planning framework would setup a system to ensure an outcome. But all this comes down to the politics of the willing, and judging by the rhetoric spewed by the 'urban elite' in PNG, it will take a while to understand how to solve the 'problem'. I know you explained to me in a previous email exchange the limits of your project being a desktop analysis, but this is a great start to what is needed. If you were a bit more curious, I would implore you to ask the itching question - why can't planners plan equitable cities in Melanesia?

Very interesting analysis and I hope will be updated sometime in the future as it is obvious that Starlink can provide internet coverage anywhere with simple hardware, but it is also understandable that current internet providers will not be happy as they have invested huge money in communication towers and infrastructure.

Good article. Of course project sustainability is a key issue - especially for AIFFP projects - and this consideration should be right at the front of shaping projects. According to one source, nearly half of ADB transport projects (2015-2019) across the region were rated as less than likely sustainable. My experience suggests that change is needed at the infrastructure portfolio level (not just project level). Filling the sustainability gap with external funding is a temporary solution which could possibly allow a build-up of economic and fiscal headroom. However, there is a more a structural shift needed that can only happen by strengthening of mechanisms to locate accountability properly within the system. Strategic asset management mechanisms enable infrastructure managers to measure the sustainability gap, and convey to their decision-makers the value-based implications of not filling the gap - is the infrastructure being spent-down, steady-state, or appreciating and what are the economic and social consequences. While fiscal situations might dictate things, this would at least enable more transparent, outcome orientated, decision making to take place. This can be achieved by supporting infrastructure managers to think outside the project-orientated box and take a more portfolio-orientated financially-orientated approach. In my experience none of this can be sustainably fixed at the project-level. Incentive mechanisms risk being gamed to just divert funds across the portfolio.

It is similar to the most of the South Asian urban realities. In one perspective communities squatting in government lands have not one but dual benefits which are earnings from unknown sources and not liable to take responsibility of any ownership disputes because again the problem boomerang towards to government failure. Faced the same issue in one of the development initiative I actively participated. Political voting bases and influence have great deal to play in resolving these issues.

Sporadic urban settlements are nothing but showing incapable governance. The government is forced to bear the cost in two ways. First, to evacuate "illegal" settlers to pave the way for a "development" project costing the government coffers. Second, the government has to bear a massive cost to relocate settlers if the land is taken for a development project funded internationally. The eviction has to be aligned with the resettlement guidelines, paying for illegal settlers. I worked on a internationally funded project in Lae when the port project (funded by a BIG Bank) had to evacuate thousands of families squatted on government land. This could have been avoided if that state land was well-protected. The government machinery failed to do so and now pays back the people from its own resources. Unlike other countries in the middle east and Central Asia, PNG's rural land is productive and rich in natural resources. Yet, we see an exodus of rural people migrating into cities. Surely, it is a problem of governance and unless this core issue is addressed, the exodus of rural masses into urban areas will remain unabated.

Thank you for the kind sentiments. Hopefully it reaches the policy makers and influences change.

Thank you, Ryan for making a well-crafted paper. I would like too raise two comments. One is about valuation of environmental benefits or costs under the crop. Specifically, palm oil simulates forest like conditions and of course far from a forest and has it increased soil and moisture loss, reduced fuelwood availability to community? How does it compare with rubber for instance? When intensive animal husbandry is introduced under palm oil like practised in PNG's New Britain Island, the situation could be more favorable to the crop. Second, is there any evidence on how the communities are spending their enhanced earnings apart from increased consumption? Are people investing on enterprises that generate other benefits? Kind regards.

I attended PUF7 at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby. One presentation I attended left a strong impression on me. Someone in the audience said that most times, when disaster strikes in the Pacific, support from developmental partners comes in late. If given to the government, some of this money is bled out on its way to the affected area.