Comments

First off, we keep Fiji and all other COVID-19 affected areas in our thoughts and prayers as we continue on with our fight against this pandemic. Let us not lose hope and remain vigilant! I wanted to thank you for this article, which I think highlights a very important fact that Pacific communities need to understand - that many of the challenges faced by governments and especially public health institutions across region in response to this (and any other) pandemic, are not merely clinical or biomedical in nature - but rather also include political, social, and economic influence. During the past 18 months here in my native Palau (as also faced by many other Pacific health authorities), we've had to deal with many issues indirectly spawned by the coronavirus pandemic including economic recession, political pressure to re-open borders, and community hostility and stigma against repatriated travelers and persons suspected of being COVID infected. These are indirect consequences of the pandemic that only add more to the complexity and uncertainty of the pandemic and should also be realized and addressed if we are to expect effective and timely mitigation efforts. I think it is these types of articles that should be heeded by mainstream media, and citizenries alike as they provide important insight into these issues that are often left in the background, and are arguably the key drivers of governments' actions and inactions against this unprecedented global health threat. Thank you.

Thank you Dr very well spelt out. I only hope this govt to listens to economists like you and many who have been voicing out for so long. But it falls into deaf ears or simply because of pride and egoism.

Hi Holly how long does it take for the recruitment process to take ?

Thanks Nick, the 'invisibility' of mining operations and their local impacts is an interesting part of how mineral governance landscapes are changing during the pandemic. Your paper with John Owen and Deanna Kemp is instructive here - and a little prophetic given that it was written early on in the pandemic. The invisibility observation connects to some of the other themes in our report including: (1) Giving and receiving—corporate philanthropy and lobbying in pandemic times (which you also discuss in your paper); (2) Shrinking civic space, digital engagement contested (which we profile in this blog); (3) Stretched oversight—Regulator capacity and pandemic distractions; and (4) Border closures and restricted travel—Mediating and dislocating social relations. Of course, complexity: These and other trends are playing out in different ways, for different actors, across different geographies, in different mining jurisdictions.

Thanks Stephen. The race in Fiji is between the virus and the vaccine. The virus is ahead in the sprint, but will be beaten in the marathon when vaccinations are complete in the next month or so. It will greatly help if the leaders of or religious organizations - the churches, temples, mosques, gurudwaras, etc. - stood up, stepped forward, and rolled up their sleeves for vaccination of their entire congregation. PNG could give vaccination a head start by doing the same.

Yes, achieving several SDG targets by 2030 will be extremely difficult, if not unattainable. Sustained economic performance remains the best strategy to improve economic and social and outcomes. Apart from fiscal and monetary policies, other specific policies (labour market, trade, environment, agriculture and manufacturing) will be key towards maintaining inclusive and broad based growth.

Yes, the there is a change in methodology - the change, however, can not be associated with the increase in poverty rate.

We'll need another survey to clearly figure out the magnitude of the impact on specific sectors post-COVID.

Good to see these issues getting more detailed attention. We flagged several of these issues shortly after the pandmic broke, and it would seem that many of them are now entrenched. As we saw it, under pandemic conditions, it becomes even more difficult to 'peer through the looking glass', as visibility over what is happenning on the ground around mining projects is more clouded. "Invisibility and the extractive-pandemic nexus" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214790X20301490?casa_token=RhkfQ3miqDQAAAAA:gfJv3kNjqwEJtkc9lErIRiodY9EoNqekfSmFuVG6qWlf7AGFYqLShhravHA5QGrFeLFv6H6B5YpO

In light of the crisis that Fiji is currently going through, it is evident that we will not be able to achieve the SDG goals in the year 2030. As such fiscal policy tools are most resorted to in order to tackle poverty and inequalities. As mentioned above that we are in dire need of reforms, would you be able to suggest some reforms that are much needed, monetary or fiscal?

I support your point. There's more about PNG.

I believe the PNG authorities tried to imitate the setting Hong Kong has. The Hong Kong dollar has been pegged to a narrow trading band, which currently ranges from HK$7.7500 and HK$7.7600 per USD.3 If, and when, the HKD hits either the upper or lower bound, the HKMA, which acts as the de facto central bank, intervenes to stabilize the currency. The catch is Hong Kong is the 9th most traded currency pair traded globally and The HKMA has about $450 billion+ USD in foreign reserves to thwart any attempts to have it desaligned. PNG on the other hand cannot support this artificially set rate causing much mismatch in the FX market