Comments

Thanks for this piece Sadhana and Stephen. I think that describing Kiribati as "one of the worst governed in the world" is harsh, and use of the prevalence of TB and diabetes as your measure of governance misplaced. Kiribati would outrank many of it's peers in terms of control of corruption, levels of transparency, and the application of the rule of law - the norms used to quantify levels of governance.

Very informative.

Politicians invariably consider political instability a major concern, at least while they're holding office. Clearly, if trying to retain or gain government costs major public funds, as may occur around votes of no confidence, that's certainly a matter of major public concern. However, what should be of more concern is policy stability than political stability, and the two don't necessarily coincide, as well, of course, whether policies are actually applied in practice, and the suitability of the policies.

Most importantly, a hard yank on the fiscal levers now with large cuts to government expenditure in the guise of austerity will only exacerbate the sufferings of the people. This will risk another round of protests that the architects of the reform must consider when devising the plans for economic stabilization and recovery.

Thanks for the data, it is a pretty sorry situation. A 10 per cent target would be a good starting point. So many great women in the Pacific but they have so little representation.

Thanks for this analysis. US China rivalry seems to be the only prism outsiders can view the Pacific through. Time for a much more respectful interaction, and supporting Pacific nations' own concerns and arrangements.

A superb article. Comparisons with Sri Lanka have been made in the Pacific but quickly rejected by some of our analysts. In some respects Sri Lanka is a different kettle of fish but some parallels are quite chilling, not the least because they seem to have become normalised in some regional countries: - Ministers with entourage of ‘yes-men’; with few true advisors, as most ministers did not wish to be corrected/discuss substance - Senior government officials overwhelmingly male still in the dark ages with contempt for women - Sexism and segregation of women in politics/parliament , leadership, and economic life - Anti-Western propaganda in human rights, freedom of expression, media rights, corruption and China issue - Politicians eager to accept easy loans from China - shun western aid which come with conditions - Borrowing unsustainably to build infrastructure - Pork-barrelling - Control media with sticks and carrots and and retain a high media profile - Brain drain due to strongman politics, anti-Western bluster and social sexism Some Pacific countries should take a good look at Sri Lanka. The same goes for some Pacific analysts.

Senator Penny Wong and other ministers have confirmed today that the Telstra purchase of Digicel's Pacific arm has now been finalised.

So interested to know about how the devolved funding is diverted to bring expected outcomes to meet the needs and wants of the citizens of PNG.

I believe women in PNG, have the advantage of becoming Members of Parliament, however, its the eligible voters refusing to mark x against a female candidate. If you go to polling booth and ask a female voter if she voted for a female candidate out of 9/10 will say "NO"!

From 2019 the terms that Barrick brought to the table for a new Porgera special mining lease can be readily discerned by making a triangulation of the Porgera proposals with the Barrick/Tanzanian agreement (North Mara and two other mines) and the recently announced Barrick/Pakistan agreement for a mining development contract for the Reko Diq mine. The negotiation between Barrick and PNG is ongoing and has yet to crystallize in the form of a mining development contract for the Porgera mine. All three agreements (Tanzania, PNG and Pakistan) feature a 50/50 ‘equity partnership’ arrangement for the concession licence. The Barrick share of the concession licence will be 50%. The remaining 50% will be shared between the State (in the form of SOEs), the Provincial government and the landowners. Some free carried equity interest will be non-dilutable. In Tanzania, PNG and Pakistan a mining licence is, or will be, granted to the concession holders on the basis of Barrick’s proposals as project operator for mine development. At the level of the mine operatorship the non-legal entity of an unincorporated joint venture continues. The various concession equity holders are parties to this joint venture and explicitly contract not to be in a partner relationship with Barrick and each other. Barrick company policy is to take up a partnership relationship with mine-affected landowners and communities, local and provincial governments and the state. Mutually ageed on policies include employment, preferences for local suppliers, education and training, and tax-credit infrastructure projcts, etc. The possibility of an equity holders ‘buy-out’ of Barrick is also included. Partnership duties at this level include the obligation on all to act with utmost good faith in all respects in regard to their dealings with each other. Other points of note are the Tanzanian legislative/regulatory changes pertaining to dispute resolution and the Barrick/Pakistan agreement which stipulates that the final Barrick/Pakistan mining development contract for Reko Diq will be submitted to the Pakistan Supreme Court for review. It is the Barrick view, since 2019, that mines are the guests of the host country. For mining to be sustainable it must adopt and embrace the development goals of the host country. The active role that Barrick takes in this process can be seen as a form of economic development ‘bootstrapping’ as exemplified by the China development experience. Vailala

Thank you.