By John Bailey

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape MP has started an ambitious vision for Papua New Guinea (PNG) to make PNG the RICHEST BLACK CHRISTIAN NATION ON PLANET EARTH.
He will need more than this term of parliament to achieve this vision. After more than 43 years of failed Prime Ministerial visions for raising the living standards of every single Papua New Guineans, it is a genuine breath of fresh air to have a Prime Minister with a clear vision for the country.

Prime Minister Marape started his official overseas trip as Prime Minister to Australia our nearest neighbour country. That official visit to Australia with his delegation was both strategic in selling his vision to Australia as our major foreign aid donor and also it laid the foundation for the future relationship with Australia in terms of our economic and developmental bilateral focus between Australia and PNG. The evident genuine rapport and friendship Prime Minister Marape developed with Prime Minister Scott Morrison is something to be proud of by both Australians and Papua New Guineans.
Many Australian taxpayers often wondered why Australian taxpayer dollars have continued supporting PNG after over 43 years of being politically independent from Australia. With issues of systematic and systemic corruption and mismanagement of public resources within PNG, that view is not surprising.

However, our historical ties with Australia goes beyond our political independence. PNG and Australia are linked historically for over 50,000 years. That in itself is significant and worth celebrating. Australia and PNG used to be a single landmass during the ice ages when sea levels were much lower than the present time and walking across from PNG to Australia was possible.
Prime Minister Hon James Marape has a much clearer vision compared to all of PNG's past Prime Ministers. His vision is very practical and he has already started in a much more pragmatic and determined way in restoring the lost pride of Papua New Guinea.

Over 95 percent of Papua New Guineans see themselves as Christians and embrace the Christian faith. It is from that standpoint, Prime Minister Marape is correct in identifying PNG as a Christian and predominantly black country. It is also very clear that Prime Minister Marape knows that the wisdom gleaned from the Bible is the foundation from which our nation will prosper. Not surprising, the Bible clearly states that God's people need leaders with vision.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29: 18a KJV).
Our Prime Minister has a very clear vision to make Papua New Guinea the RICHEST BLACK CHRISTIAN NATION ON PLANET EARTH. He can do that. But to succeed in fulfilling that vision, every single Papua New Guineans must rally around our Prime Minister and support his vision even beyond the 2022 National General Elections.

Moving forward there seem to be four priority areas that needs immediate attention.
Firstly, we need the government of Prime Minister Hon. James Marape and his deputy Hon Davis Steven to make sure that all corrupt individuals who have contributed towards the economic suffering of our country must be investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned for their criminal activities starting from within their own government and bureaucrats.

Secondly, the rule of law must be strengthened including its supporting institutions.
Thirdly, our education system in the country needs a complete overhaul with the view towards embracing the vision of our Prime Minister and to make sure that every young person must be engaged and involved in nation building projects in our country through the National Youth Service programmes, administered jointly by the PNG Defense Force and the National Education department.

Finally, there must be a restructuring of our tax system to encourage economic growth. This can be done by lowering business taxes including business incentives from the government ( SMEs are included here) and also to have a reduction in income tax for low to middle income earners in the country. These tax reductions will stimulate business and job creation in the country.
May God bless Papua New Guinea.