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Sir Your concern on our economy is the national catastrophe and Sir Marape needs to look seriously on this matter. On saying this our Government has to think outside the box Since COVID-19 is here but how do we save our economy after the recession? PNG please snap out of the Dream we've been living in for the last two months I know COVID-19 is real but it had been with us all along for ages come on . If we Don't wake up PNG economy will be down to NIL STOCK and to regain composure PNG Government will have to Knock on the World Bank Door again with the massive amount of loans we have already on hand. MAY GOD FORGIVE US ALL for selling our country...

Hi Ambassador, Thank you very much. This is an eyeopener, the severe economic crisis is looming in the PSIDS in light of the COVID-19 lockdown measures, especially in those which do not qualify for the concessional loans. The PSIDS are facing multiple challenges from the restrictive COVID-19 measures, the most serious among them is the collapsing economies from border closures. Indeed, the stimulus package is not a long- term solution for the Pacific Island countries which are already most vulnerable to climate change and at the same time highly dependent upon their trading partners for development. Therefore, Corona Virus containment is critical, which for sure, is a colossal task.

Total agree. When we set the pendulum, making our people to believe this way, we are on the road to recovery

Tuff tumas Ambassador Tevi God I blessem yu mo family mo stap safe always!

Hi Michael Thank you so much for your effort in researching and writing these articles. I enjoy the insight gain from reading about our country especially the piece on Bougainville. Hope our leaders and policymakers learn from them.

I am in agreement with Peter Aglua. A Jacko (not his real name) of Gwaimasi village gave COVID-19 a Christian Perspective. The article is posted in this same blog. May you all take time to find it and read. The title is " god-health and covid-19-in-remote-papua-new-guinea. PNG can become the richest nation in ten years. As the good book records, and I a paraphrasing 'A thousand years can be as one day, and one day can be as a thousand years' to God that is. Seeking and following God's wisdom which may/will seem foolish to learned people, but once the simple people (of which 80 % of our people are) catch it, I anticipate a miracle!!

Who do we see over Termination of Employment during S.O E?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rightly urged young people to act responsibly to help prevent the spread of coronavirus within the community. While young people appear less susceptible to the severe effects of the virus, the PM has urged them to continue going to school and if not at school then to stay off the streets and not to congregate with their friends. Why? So that young people do not become a transmission path to older Australians for whom the virus is more deadly. Young people should act responsibly to help protect the wellbeing of older Australians. Yet it was not so many months ago that the PM was urging some of these same young people to stay in school and not joint the global student strike over inaction on Climate Change. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who started the global student movement, effectively made the point when she told world leaders at the United Nations: You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words and yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!.... “You are failing us, but the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you and if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you” Young people expect Prime Ministers and (older)government leaders to act urgently on climate change to protect the wellbeing of young people and future generations. When we emerge from the horrors of the corona virus pandemic, will the Government commit to urgent and substantial action to cut emissions? Will we have learnt that ’going early and going hard’ to stem a pandemic, applies equally to reducing carbon emissions that are already killing thousands through extreme temperatures, unprecedented bushfires and severe storms and flooding. Or will we return to “talk about money and the fairytales of eternal economic growth”? As Greta concluded: ’We will not let you get away with this’.

Brother, that's the way out.... Surely agree.

The two most important sentences in this whole article in my view are at the end. 1. "This would be an opportunity for us as a country to strategically reposition our economy for a sustainable future." 2. "This would require reliable, honest, transparent and accountable political leadership." Questions arise - 1. Does government and the entire citizenry recognise this crisis as an opportunity to strategically reposition the economy for a sustainable future? If not, how do you make them recognise that? If yes, how do you master that collective recognition towards a national and holistic commitment to strategically position the economy for a sustainable future? 2. Reliable, honest, transparent and accountable political leadership is presumably not in place - how do you ensure this is put in place first as the means to the end above?

The main Opposition Party, SODELPA, does not present a credible alternative way forward

Thank you very much for opening this space for discussion! I am an International Development postgraduate student currently looking at the potential impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in the relationships between China and Latin America. Following on Roche and Tarpey's piece on March 23th, I believe the present crisis can easily be seen as a critical junction - one of those key and unexpected moments in history that hold the potential to accelerate processes of social change. In the case of China-Latin America relations, it seems that the coronavirus crisis can represent a turning point in the long-lasted hegemony of the U.S. over the region (which has already shown signs of its deterioration over the last few decades). On that scenario, China, with its attractive funding and 'flexible' parameters, steps in to fill the void left by the North American superpower. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) might represent one of the landmarks in the transition. I would appreciate any comments on the matter. Looking at the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of social change theory seems to be a fascinating exercise!