 |
|
 |
|||
|
|
Sprucing up Madang’s greenery Leading tourism company, Melanesian Tourist Services, has been assisting with the beautification and well-being of Madang for as long as it has been in the town.In its most recent contribution to the cause, MTS planted coconut trees around some of the popular parks and gardens and streets of the “tourist town”. The company used its staff, resources and time to source the palm trees at the Cocoa and Coconut Research Institute outside Madang town and planted them around Bates Oval and Rotary Park and along some of the streets. This act of goodwill adds to what MTS and its subsidiary Madang Resort Hotel have done for one of PNG’s provincial towns famous for its beauty and tourism over the years. MTS owner and retired politician Sir Peter Barter is often seen physically doing his bit when he gets down and dirty on the company tractor mowing the overgrown lawns of Bates Oval, Rotary Park and elsewhere. Sometimes Sir Peter goes out mowing with youths who collect and dispose off rubbish with the help of his company trucks. The recent gesture by MTS comes at a time when age, neglect, vandalism and the elements are taking their toll on palms and other trees around town. The coconut trees have also been planted at a time when the new governor of Madang, Sir Arnold Amet, is going out of his way to spark an attitude change in the public service and the general community towards better stewardship, respect and self-discipline in Madang. In his first six months in office thus far, Sir Arnold has been walking the talk, as it were. He has led public servants and members of the public to literally clean the garbage of Madang town. And Sir Arnold has had arguably more meetings with public servants and members of the public than perhaps any provincial governor in PNG in such a short span of time in office. These meetings are his way of hearing from the public and offering his mind on how best things can be done communally for Madang. Reading his sentiments on Madang, the governor sees his town, province and people as part of a bigger picture – what happens here has to be in harmony and for the greater good of Momase, PNG, the Pacific and the world beyond. It may be early days, but today one can tell the difference at the Sir Angmai Bilas Madang provincial administration headquarters and the Sir Bato Bultin provincial government headquarters. There appears to be a new lease of life there. There are more offices open and cars parked outside the offices till 4.06pm and the two seats of government and administration appear to be alive than they were this time in the past. As apart of the overall attitude change, Sir Arnold has invited the residents of Madang town to beautify and look after their homes and properties. While some residents have heeded the call, many more have yet to check out the appearance of their neighbourhoods and the infrastructure and activities they are putting up legally and otherwise in their yards. The planting of coconut trees by MTS, Sir Peter mowing ovals and parks and Sir Arnold leading public servants to collect garbage are but small deeds in the bigger scheme of life in Madang, Momase and PNG. They add to similar support for community development by other companies, non-government organisations and leaders. They are deeds that may not change the world for the residents of Madang overnight. But these acts of goodwill provide object lessons. Just as the ocean is made up tiny droplets of water, these seemingly small and mundane deeds add to the overall good of society if everyone does his or her bit.
Can India and China save the world’s economy? By BENJAMIN MORGAN SHANGHAI: With fears mounting of a global economic slowdown, some analysts predict developing giants China and India, with their booming growth, will help lessen the impact. Stock market turmoil this week triggered by fears of a US recession in the wake of a massive mortgage crisis has ignited debate over whether Asia’s two rising economic stars are strong enough to power the world economy. This directly challenges the 20th-century economic adage that when the US economy sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold. “What is occurring is the rise of other economies to balance out those of the US – and that has to be a good thing,” Chris Devonshire, a business consultant specialising on China and India trade, said. “The US has problems but these will be offset against markets elsewhere. The new world order is working,” he told AFP. China saw scorching expansion of 11.4 % last year, closely followed by India’s 9.4%, and the prospects for both economies remain strong. “We expect China and India to support regional growth in the event of a significant slowdown in the US,” ING Barings Asia economist Prakash Sakpal said. Such a shakeup is significant because jobs and livelihoods are at stake, but also because, as financier George Soros wrote in the Financial Times, it could signal a major shift in economic power. “The current financial crisis is less likely to cause a global recession than a radical realignment of the global economy, with a relative decline of the US and the rise of China and other countries in the developing world.” But Zhang Ming, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, dismisses the notion that the Chinese and Indian economies are independent of US consumption. “If you want to look at who is going to be the motor of global growth, then you have to look at who provides the biggest market for the world’s production of goods,” Zhang said. “In the short run, America is still strongest. China still has a long way to go.” China, whose US$3.4-trillion economy is about one-third derived from exports, could easily face economic difficulties if it were to lose the 2.5 growth percentage points garnered from trade, Stephen Green, a Standard Chartered economist, said. However, Indian exports represent only about 17% of its US$1.1 trillion gross domestic product, allowing it greater resiliency in the face of a US recession, analysts said. “Our economy is geared to domestic demand. We are insulated so that even if there is a US recession, it will not have such a direct impact on the Indian economy,” Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry economic adviser Anjun Roy, said. But given that India’s share of world trade in 2006 stood at 1.5%, it is not in a position to boost the world economy, Roy said, citing official statistics. According to data published by the World Trade Organisation, China’s merchandise exports last year totalled 8% of the world total, while imports stood at 6.4%. No cumulative figure was provided. However, Stephen Roach, a leading economist as head of investment bank Morgan Stanley in Asia, said this week that the idea China and India could power the world economy on their own could “turn out to be a fantasy.” Roach, who is forecasting a US recession, also argued in a recent note that when the US consumer is in trouble this has great consequences for the world economy. He calculated that the American consumer spent a combined US$9.5 trillion last year while Chinese only laid out US$1 trillion and Indians US$650 billion. “It is almost mathematically impossible for China and India to offset a pullback in American consumption,” he said. – AFP
|
||
| Previous | Back to top | Next | |
|
|||
