DID WORKERS IN PNG'S CAPITAL CITY STAY HOME TODAY?

I got out of the car and walked across the Boroko main bus stop in PNG’s capital Port Moresby to speak to several bus drivers about the strike that’s supposed to happen today, it’s the 26^th of October 2018.

But, before I get into that, let me tell you what is happening.

Outspoken opposition MP Bryan Kramer has called for the strike in response to the Government flying in 40 Maseratis for the APEC Leaders’ Summit. 

The PNG Government has defended the acquisition saying a certain standard of vehicle is required for the World’s leaders and that the luxury cars will be sold on to the private sector.

But, there has been a public outcry on Facebook and today those keyboard warriors on FB will walk the talk, all those people who commented will be expected to protest.

Downtown Port Moresby

So, what really happened today?

The short answer is, there is no way of knowing how many people went on strike or protest, but businesses could tell us how many workers turned up for work today.

But, from the amount of traffic observed, a good number of workers may have stayed home.

Children in schools around Port Moresby were also sent home to their parents after the year eight exams in case the buses stopped.

So let us go back to the bus drivers… the first two bus drivers I spoke to said they would continue to operate despite receiving a notice from passengers stating they should stop at 11 a.m.

They told me about their own reasons. They had to pay off the loan used to purchase the bus and they felt the problem was for the politicians’ to sort out. I know… those responses were very ignorant.

The buses and taxis in Port Moresby never stopped operating, so it allowed people to commute in the morning, but, as the day progressed, I was staking out main bus stops from around 9 a.m. till 12 noon and saw that buses waited longer for passengers, very odd for a fortnight Friday, isn't it?

So, what does today tell us about Papua New Guinea as a society?

Again, it's very hard to know if the protest did actually work or not. It's even frustrating that I can't tell you, how I really feel about the way things are. You see, I am a journalist and I have to keep objective with everything... 

So, all I can say is the writing is on the wall, we are either very ignorant about the state of our country, we have too much respect for the delusional idealism of the “big men” in parliament or we’re just too busy trying to make ends meet everyday and can’t take part in protests, I’ll let you  all decide….

THE POTENTIAL OF DIGITAL MARKETING IN PNG

For the sake of doing business with partners from overseas it would be wise for any company in the country to start its digital marketing campaign. The real potential of digital marketing lies in industries that need customers coming from overseas. The most vital sustainable industry for the future after Papua New Guinea’s extractive industry stops contributing to the country’s GDP is the tourism sector. The Papua New Guinea tourism authority must think of a way to ensure their digital campaign reaches out to the target audience.

 There is no simple answer to get tourists into Papua New Guinea against a backdrop of negative news about the country, but the authority can start by making use of all platforms available to it. Instead of advertising within PNG, the authority can look at pushing its campaign overseas to Western worlds and also toward wealthy Asian countries. Japan and Australia will always remember the World War 2 history shared with Papua New Guinea. It’s really simple, just a few short videos or high quality pictures of war relics and the kokoda trail will get tourists excited.

Villagers in PNG getting registered on a portable IDBox to get involved with E-Commerce
pic:APEC

The campaign can also include a short interview with PNG’s Police Commissioner and Prime Minister assuring tourists that the country is safe and willing to host friends. APEC is already a stepping-stone. The Maserati’s would have won over money hearts.  But, putting aside the jokes, it would make a huge difference to use digital marketing to drive advertising overseas instead of in PNG, because lets face it, 600,000 people on Facebook isn’t a market for tourism, when the authority could target hundreds and millions of people in the Western world who want to see jungles, the wildlife, surf waves and dive in pristine reefs.  

The digital campaign would be cheap to conduct. For about US$200 a month, targeted audiences would be aware of the experiences waiting for them. There is no need for expensive television or newspaper advertising in local newspapers, because social media platforms will play a pivotal role in getting the message out there, driving traffic to a resort, hotel or tourist guide travel website for them to make reservations, purchase airline tickets and organise other vital services. The prospectus of the tourism industry is huge, but again, the management of the authority needs to be changed and those in charge need to be laid off the job, because quite frankly, they lack the creativity. No offence, this is after all a blog post and not an academic write up.

HOW IS DIGITAL MARKETING INFLUENCING BUSINESSES IN PNG?

In the developed parts of the world, digital marketing has changed the way people buy and sell products. E-commerce has become a convenient way for customers to make purchases on cars, clothing, groceries and more. In the United States of America, Australia and the rest of the Western world a lot of it is done using desktop computers, because marketing campaigns and web designs were done for computers’. But, that could be different for developing countries like Papua New Guinea.

Most people in Papua New Guinea like Latin America and other developing parts of the world, have limited or no connection to broadband or DSL for most of the population. For PNG, only recently Australia signed an agreement with the Solomon Islands’ and Papua New Guinea to build a new cable for some hundreds of millions of dollars. But, for the time being internet rates remain expensive, desktop computers or laptops are quite expensive to buy and so mobile phones take precedence over them. Therefore, digital marketing campaigns in those areas heavily focus on encouraging their customers to call or visit their local dealer and less on driving traffic to their website.

APEC meeting on E-commerce 

But, Papua New Guinea is trying to make a quantum leap into the new world of digital marketing without providing the basic services needed to power mobile phone and computers. 85% of the country population live in the rural areas where there is no electricity, no Internet and no communication infrastructure. While, people living in urban areas also living in towns and cities face frequent power outages and expensive Internet rate charges. In 2018, the PNG government hosted a series of meetings during Asia Pacific Economic Forum or APEC; one of the topics discussed during the meetings leading up to the leaders summit was e-commerce. The PNG government expects its people to take part in e-commerce, but that seems like a far shot, because it’s simply not possible to drive E-commerce, because most people living in the village don’t have bank VISA cards or Master Cards to buy and sell online.

So where does E-commerce fit in a country like PNG? The short answer is, it doesn’t fit in now, in terms of buying and selling.  It will probably work in the next ten years, because right now, customers would prefer to physically make the payments. Most of the people in the village don’t have birth certificates or the ability to sign papers for a bankcard. If the PNG government is serious about E-commerce, it must try to prepare its people to take part.

HOW DIGITAL MARKETING IS BEING USED IN PNG POLITICS

The short answer is yes, ever since Facebook took Papua New Guinea by storm around 2012 more people are aware of what’s being written on blogs and websites, because information gets shared through emails or messenger.

In Papua New Guinea, articles are advertised on Facebook and twitter. The content being published are based on politics and socio-economic issues.

The blogs publishing critical articles of politics have gained followers across the country. They have become a hit in PNG and even abroad. The topics on this blogs are highly controversial and draw a lot of debate in the public domain.

This is for good reason, because according to Facebook insight, an analytical tool, most people in the country follow politics.

Papua New Guinea is an interesting country with eight hundred different languages and diverse cultures. Its politics is also another element of surprise to many people who share a common interest in the country.

With the inclusion of Digital marketing communication, politicians’ have also taken a keen interest in publishing articles on blogs and sharing them on social media platforms Facebook and twitter.

Bryan Kramers Facebook blog page 

In todays PNG news, Madang MP Bryan Kramer demonstrates what social media and digital marketing can be used to influence change in society.

His Facebook blog page Kramer Report just reached 100,000 followers, while estimates suggest that around 600,000 people actively use Facebook in Papua New Guinea. 

Mr Kramer's posts has stirred up heated debates over PNG’s government coalition and opposition. He has been able to utilize the platform to gain a lot of popularity for all the good reason, especially fighting corruption.

Some government Ministers think Mr Kramer’s posts are so hurtful. Earlier this year, Communications Minister Sam Basil reported Bryan Kramer when the Madang MP called him a ‘dumb” on a Facebook post.

The biggest set back when using this digital platform is eighty-five present of the economy still live in the rural areas of PNG. Most of them are subsistent famers who don't own mobile phones; hence, most Papua New Guineans don’t know what’s going on.

While, the small number of people are on Facebook, it shows that digital media in PNG is still at its infancy and it has the potential to grow, but, it also means the target audience is a niche. Bloggers will have to compete.

WHY PNG’S ONLY PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY CAN'T GET HELP?

One of the heavy metal doors is opened by a grim face ward attendee to show where violent patients were kept locked up, a claustrophobic room like a prison cell where more than one acute patient slept, fights were common inside.

The cell has been abandoned, but on the white walls are the vivid graffiti patients left behind, you get the feeling they were trying to describe the torture they felt- the place still smells like urine and faeces, despite the effort to clean it up.

The nurse in charge of the acute ward, Dianne Rambe, has brought me into an imposing building; she tells me violent patients couldn’t be kept here anymore.

“We have two acute wards, we are using one right now, this one has been closed, because it’s not right for people to live in,” she said.

Inside the abandon acute ward. Pic: Bethanie Harriman ABC news

The staff at the acute wards tell me there is an on-going water problem, that hasn’t been solved and conditions get very bad in the cells, where up to sixty people use about three showers and three toilets.

Ms Rambe set down with me later in her office, to tell me about her staff missing work, because they were stressed.

I could see too, that there were only three people working at the time, they were all sitting in a small office just before the wards entrance.

When patients came to the hospital, Ms Rambe and her team said they had no other option, but to turn them away after they closed one of the acute wards, despite seeing an increased number of patients.

“When we had that ward open we usually had eighty plus patients everyday, but because we shut the place down, we can only receive enough patients, like thirty,” said Ms Rambe.

She said when families bring their loved ones to get help here the nurses take them in despite the lack of resources to look after them.

“We look after the very acutely ill people, this is the only psychiatric hospital in the country, we receive patients from all over the country, with the very little manpower we have we try to settle this very ill people,” said Ms Rambe.

And it’s not like the hospital’s management didn’t want to look for help, before I went to the acute wards, I met the head of medical services, Dr Ludwig Nanawar in his office, we later walked out to the institutes gazebo, where he told me the facility needs urgent help, but cant ask for it from the Australian government or other donor country’s.

Staff walking out of acute ward. Pic: Bethanie Hariman ABC News

Dr Nanawar said the hospital tried to write to the Australian government and others for assistance, but they simply don’t have the legal status to do so.

“What’s stopping us from accessing this donor funding is having a board in place and a strong management team.”

“At the moment, we cannot have a board, because of the legal status of having a board, unfortunately Laloki hasn’t been given a level, there are seven levels, the lowest being level one, which are the aid posts and the highest level seven are like the General hospitals,” he said.

“We don’t know ours, that’s why we can’t have a governing structure, donor agencies look for that to see how we can handle funding.”

Dr Nanawar said the management of the institution has drawn up a restructure for the PNG Health department to consider.

But, PNG’s Health Secretary Pascoe Kase has responded in local media saying it doesn’t comply with set standards and did not meet the requirements of the law.

For now, the hospital staffs are doing what they can to help patients with what they have. 

Those who are discharged are released back into the community - continuing to live with their family, if they’re lucky – others are disowned, commit serious crimes or end up on the streets of Port Moresby.

In my time, I’ve travelled many places around Papua New Guinea, but the Laloki Psychiatric facility outside of the capital, Port Moresby is probably one of the most depressing.

I was drawn to do a story on Laloki hospital in January 2014 after reading an article written by PNG veteran journalist Scott Waide about a University graduate suffering from some form of mental disorder and now living on the streets of Port Moresby with his son.

Chris was his name and often he would be discriminated, humiliated and even beaten by his own family members including people on his street.

After all the maltreatment, he was eventually casted out onto the streets of Port Moresby and disowned by his family.

Last year, I finally moved to Port Moresby and this month, I visited Laloki to see for myself, what it was like up there.

I am glad I did, because now I fully understand that the government of Papua New Guinea, my country doesn’t care about the mental health of it’s people, it’s easy to keep objective about this issue, but, so many other Papua New Guineans pay tax to a government that’s supposed to look after its people.

I recognized that the reason PNG has people like Chris living on the streets, is because successive governments of Papua New Guinea have failed to improve social support systems to look after people, when traditional family values vanish, as the country develops and tries to catch up with the rest of the world.