Comments

That's right! But can there be an appropriate situation raised to solve the issue of such irresponsible teachers who are not actually working on the promised task that they once sign up to do or carry out the task effectively, wholeheartedly and efficiently? This lies to such ignorant public servants of today's life.

Thanks Darcy. Blockchain technology was brought to life when I was doing some review work for DFAT in the Rohingya refugee camps near Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh last month. The World Food Program is using its blockchain expertise to record the biometric identities for approximately one million refugees, as well as procurement and distribution of food and gas. There are significant benefits, on top of measurable savings in transaction costs. Visible and practical examples like this help to promote coordinated government policy in the application of blockchain technology.

Kiribati has complained the loudest about climate change, being in the frontline of global warming effects at it is, so what is the carbon footprint of tourism and will Kiribati sink even faster under the weight of increased arrivals in future, that is, if investors take the risk to develop the industry in the first place, given all the dire predictions about a nation sinking into oblivion? Then there are all the pollution problems that the author alludes to, such as a heavily-polluted lagoon and waste and sewage disposal issues, not mention water shortages. What about all the extra plastic bottles, cans and other waste products generated by a thriving tourism industry? Where will they go? Will investors develop proper disposable methods or will the waste end up in the sea? How to ensure an equitable distribution of income from increased tourism? What’s the risk of the people being saddled with the problems associated with increased tourism, including increased damage to their most valuable resource of all, the ocean, while the tourism operators cream all benefits? Is a bigger tourism industry really in the best interests of the people of Kiribati? Or are they better off without it?

The mere fact of having a vision like this is inspiring for other Pacific island countries. It is clear and moral. People need to support the vision and not pin all their hopes to one person. It’s exciting and it’s teamwork. He finds himself in an extremely hard postion and needs support

Thanks Bal for this piece with highlights of the new PM for PNG. While it is true in Melanesian society to give the speeches (more talks) before distributing pork in every ceremony, it is actions that speak louder in modern Melanesian society. PMJM has made so many notable speeches when he made a break away from then PM O’Neill’s Finance Ministry, during the campaigning for a change of government and after he was elected the 8th PM for PNG. Now we look forward to his actions to put into effect his words (speeches), however we begin to see the other side of his talks with his actions. With the recent state visit to Australia, he made a presentation at the Lowy Institute, stating that PNG will be self reliant in the next 10 years. In the following week, the PM asked China to bail PNG out from the K27 billion debts. Would this approach to China make PNG self-reliant? It's now the new JM’s government running the affairs of PNG, and we have not seen much changes to key institutions of governments and agencies. Many department heads thought to be corrupt are still there - not sure if they will take back PNG. Some corrupt politicians still get ministries - not sure if they will take back PNG. Only one department has began the move towards taking back PNG, and that is the Police department with the new Minister. Now with the much talked about UBS saga, the former Chief Justice who presided over the former PM O’Neill’s warrant of arrest case is appointed to head the COI - not sure we can expect a better outcome. We will continue to take every word from PMJM and evaluate his actions, the Melanesian way.

Interesting piece and you were correct in stating that PMJM's Government has only 3 years to achieve its vision of 'take back PNG'. In these 3 years what must be done or should be on agenda now will be to strengthen institutions and review legislation (or enacting new as well). This I believe this on the governments' decision table now. An institution that I, for one, think strongly should take lead in driving this vision is the Parliament, the legislature. Well it was in Parliament that this vision was delivered therefore Parliament should be the driver. In another view, Parliament represents the people through their elected representatives. The people are more connected to the Parliament than the executive government or the judiciary. Legislative strengthening is crucial. Since independence our legislature has continued to be controlled by the executive government. The control executed by the governments over the years has undermined the immediate and important role of the legislature and that is to keep the government accountable and transparent. Therefore, the independence of the legislature should be restored and resourced first and foremost. That independence should see the legislature being serious in its business to ensure good governance and transparency. Effective parliamentary oversight through the work of parliamentary committees is the way forward.

Thanks for what is mentioned to empower the citizens involved in SMEs. Our country is a young independent nation and we need development to prosper and it is entirely dependent on the economic growth of the country. Many foreign businesses exist and give big challenges to many citizens to become a good entrepreneur. It's not a nightmare that we are talking about but it is really happening in our country, Papua New Guinea. Thus, I am complimentary of the SMEs policies that were amended. Since policies have been drafted, we must do what is right for ourselves and for the country as well.

Great piece. However should be transformative - not informative - in this section: "All countries, with no caveats, must agree to take decisive and informative action to reduce global emissions".

Forgot to leave the URL for the ADB report: Search Results Web results https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/430171/tourism-growth-pacific.pdf %2Fwww.adb.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublication%2F430171%2Ftourism-growth-pacific.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3E8d9UsM6kDuTp50s9_R8d

James, Great summary of the key issues and opportunities for tourism in Kiribati. While the purchase of the Embraer planes will be helpful, developing sustainable tourism there will require, as you have rightfully emphasized, a broader approach to address the multiple issues involved. My associate, Dain Simpson, and I were contracted by the Asian Development Bank in 2016-17 to conduct a strategic tourism diagnostic of six Pacific island nations. Alas, Kiribati was not one of them, although it was when we conducted a 12 country study for the International Finance Corporation. A summary of our ADB work was published as an "Issues in Pacific Development" report in June 2018, much of which is directly relevant for Kiribati. It would be great to see tourism develop further for Kiribati. Best wishes, Scott Wayne

Hi Simon, are you working with SISAC? Be interested to take this conversation offline. I am suzanne_cant@wvi.org. Cheers Sue

Hi Simon, Thank you very much for the information -- it's really interesting to know about. Terence