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DEVELOPMENT AND ‘ECONOMIC HITMAN’ CAN OUR NEW NATIONAL TRADE POLICY ESCAPE THESE ‘LOOTERS’?

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by CYRIL GARE One of the greatest challenges for our new first time politicians is to acquaint themselves with and understand the country’s foreign policy among others. It is even challenging for a first-time Minister. In many democracies in the world, a first-time politician does not become a Minister immediately. The reason is obvious. He or she must first understudy and learn the trade skills of the game before taking on a ministerial responsibility in Government. Last week, we boasted about the launch of PNG’s first ever National Trade Policy (NTP). In time, many Papua New Guineans including myself will be able to read and understand the NTP from an available copy. For now, let’s just deduce from information provided in media reports that the NTP now “gives an upper hand to negotiate trade with its partners”. In essence, trade involves supply and demand; i) we supply others with what they do not have, and ii) in reciprocate buy from them what we do not have such as medicine an

The Germination and Spread of Corruption in Papua New Guinea: An Unfortunate Combination of Three Prime Ministers

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by A NATIONAL RESEARCH INSITUTE STAFF MEMBER Three Prime Ministers including the Father of PNG, Sir Michael Somare, have, over the past 40 years, effectively congealed to destroy what could have been a bright future and equal opportunity for the people of Papua New Guinea following independence.    As such, the noble ideals articulated by Somare and other members of the legendary Bully Beef Club during their many gatherings prior to Independence, and articulated in the Constitution's Six Directives, were never fulfilled and today are essentially abandoned.     PNG's sad progression downwards has produced its current state of rampant corruption.   Like Nigeria, like Mexico, like Indonesia, all fabulously wealthy nations in terms of natural resources, the wealth has gone nowhere useful in PNG.    PNG drags the bottom in global rankings today in terms of how little meaningful integral human development has occurred for the majority of its population. Thus far, the adv

Rush for resources

ALJazeera Papua New Guinea is cashing in on its wealth of natural resources. Last December, Sir Michael Somare, the country's prime minister, signed a $16bn deal to pipe liquid natural gas to Asia, promising to double the nation's GDP. But despite these economic windfalls, wealth and life expectancy are on the decline. Frustrated locals are up in arms, saying they no longer trust the government or developers to deliver on promises. On this edition of 101 East we ask, how much of Papua New Guinea's wealth of natural resources is reaching its people?

Rush for resources

ALJazeera Papua New Guinea is cashing in on its wealth of natural resources. Last December, Sir Michael Somare, the country's prime minister, signed a $16bn deal to pipe liquid natural gas to Asia, promising to double the nation's GDP. But despite these economic windfalls, wealth and life expectancy are on the decline. Frustrated locals are up in arms, saying they no longer trust the government or developers to deliver on promises. On this edition of 101 East we ask, how much of Papua New Guinea's wealth of natural resources is reaching its people?