Michael Kabuni and Maho Laveil – How are the most vulnerable in PNG coping with COVID-19?

Welcome to Episode 77 of Good Will Hunters from the Development Policy Centre.

Today we’re bringing you two experts from Port Moresby, to give a snapshot of the state of PNG at this unprecedented time. First, I speak with Michael Kabuni, Research Fellow in Politics at UPNG and contributor to the Devpolicy blog. Michael and I discuss the prevalence of police brutality outside of Covid-19, and the role of policing in containing the pandemic. We also discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on crime rates, including in the settlements, which are being hit the hardest.

Following Michael, I speak to Maho Leveil, Economics Lecturer at UPNG, and we look more closely at the economic impacts of Covid-19 on informal sector workers, as well as the income guarantees made by the Government of PNG. We discuss the popularity of the Marape Government and the likelihood they’ll get through 2020 without a Vote of No Confidence. Maho raises some interesting points about the lack of investment in health infrastructure in PNG and the drivers of this.

Both Michael and Maho are young academics at the University of Papua New Guinea, PNG’s leading university, that was established only ten years before the country’s independence in 1975. Both are contributors to the Devpolicy blog and we’ve included links to their recent articles here:

https://devpolicy.org/author/maholopa-laveil/
https://devpolicy.org/author/michael-kabuni/

You can connect with us on social media via @goodwillpod. We’d love to hear from you.

Enjoy,
The GWH Team