BusinessPNG

By Willie Mell For years, most of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have never been run efficiently and profitably up to standards, though a few have been profitable along the way, like MVIL. Simple reason being, political influence! In the absence of politics they could do better. The SOEs include KTH, PPL, ANG, PNG Ports Corporation, Post-PNG,  NDB, MVIL and PNG Water, Marape-Steven government is now critical about seeing dividends paid to the State as being the sole shareholder. This sounds too good, because no previous government was very vocal about this, other than Sir Mek's reign. But, how long will Marape-Steven last? Will the good policy initiatives live beyond their reign if a new government comes on board? As long as SOEs remain SOEs, nothing will ever change unless they are made to run like private corporations, with efficient systems, strong corporate governance & leadership, S.M.A.R.T missions, purely independent from undue influences, especially from...

By Willie Mell The slogan " Making PNG The Richest Black Christian Nation on earth " has recently made headlines on mainstream and social media both locally and internationally. But the simple question is: Is it possible? Firstly, the Marape-Steven Government is talking more positive, all in line with the public wishes for a better change arising from economic mismanagement by O'Neill-Abel government. Papua New Guineans are desperately expecting more from the newly installed government, and Marape-Steven Government is at the helm of causing the wind of change. And for any new event, the beginning is always packed with positive moods and excitement, and our new government is no different. But will all the excitement continue till the end, and will all the sweet echoes materialize and take tangible forms just as we wish? In this world, anything is possible except for supernatural occurrences and creations that human beings are not capable of impacting them. ...

By Willie Mell INTRODUCTION PNG is among the very few lucky countries on the planet, abundantly blessed with all the natural resources! It is referred to as " an island of gold, floating in a sea of oil, surrounded by gas" . We have all the natural resources on the land and in the sea that other countries wish to have.  Better still, and geographically, we are located on a very prime spot in the Asia Pacific region to facilitate trade and commerce to our neighbours - we can provide an ideal trade route to our advantage!  But despite our obvious economic potentials and being  a sleeping economic giant, we are rated as one of the poorest countries in the world by living standards!  Why are we being so rich in natural resources yet rated so poor? What can we do to improve our conditions, and reach our full economic potential? And, is it possible to reach our full potential? Let's study some basic economics and see if these important questions can be put t...