The events that unfolded on the 10th January 2024 will be etched into the memory of each and every Papua New Guinean and unfortunately will be a day that will be spoken about on the world stage for days, weeks and months to come. As a nation, we must ensure that this is a day that we never experience again. I am sure that there will be many lessons learnt from what has just happened and we need to take the lessons learnt and use them to help rebuild PNG.
As we know the events that have occurred have and will continue to devastate businesses across Port Moresby and beyond and will leave a deep impact on the livelihoods of all hard-working Papua New Guineans. The sad situation is, the ripple effect will be felt far and wide – not only in PNG but also the region. The country of PNG will be spoken about on a global level, sadly not for the right reasons.
There are going to be many situations and challenges that we now need to face as a nation, areas that we need to focus on and ensure we can bounce back from. We know that supply chain is going to be impacted in the immediate future, we know that families are going to be impacted and we know that the business community is going to have to endure some tough times over a long period. But there can be no hiding from it, we know that our economy will be impacted by these events. The real test is now presented to us, how do we bounce back from this situation and how do we ensure that our economy does not suffer, and PNG doesn’t fall behind.
The economic outlook needs to be reviewed and every business and organisation needs to think carefully on how they can contribute to rebuilding the economy and ensure PNG can be great again. I know that everyone in PNG is resilient and together we will work hard to ensure the business community can rebuild and ensure the economy stabilises and then grows. The business community will be the driving force behind the rebuild.
“At Kina Bank, we’re committed to ensuring that everyone in PNG has the opportunity to have access to everyday banking and we’re committed to delivering new products and digital innovation that will support the country. Despite the challenges we’ve experienced in the last 48 hours, we are more than ever committed to PNG and we will be here to help strengthen the economy, support the business community and support everyday people. That’s what we do and the events of the last few days will not change our position,” says Mr Pawson, Kina Bank CEO.
“I want to stress; Kina Bank remains dedicated to delivering on our strategic commitments that we’ve spoken about many times before and we remain dedicated to supporting hard working Papua New Guineans. Our country has great potential and Kina Bank will always be a part of the future of PNG and we will always ensure that we do our part to support the future growth of PNG.
The situation we’ve just experienced won’t slow us down and it won’t change our position and aspirations to become PNG’s leading digital bank. We’re here today, we will be here tomorrow and beyond.”
“I can honestly say, together it’s possible,” Mr Pawson says.