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POLICY CENTRE

The focus of the Policy Centre of the Business Council is to drive the new theme for 2022 through informing policy. The Policy Centre aims to drive this through its four unit priorities. These priority units are Business Performance Data, National Budget Performance Data, Structural Reform and Investment. Its focus is to track and monitor government policies and activities critical for business. Using credible data, the BCPNG will inform strategic policy in these four areas to contribute to nation building.

The Business Performance Data Unit is particularly focused on Advancing Rescue. This priority is essential for advancing this aspect of the three R’s as it underlines the importance of understanding data that reflects market conditions and hence the performing status of businesses and sectors in the country. As such, this enables the Council to identify sectors and businesses with weakened performances, thereby, providing the right information to reform policy that will target this struggling industries and provide a direction that will, optimistically, stimulate their performances.

The National Budget Performance Data is also specifically focused on Advancing Rescue. A well performing National Budget can be defined as one that is inclusive and extensive. That is its coverage considers all industries in the country. However, a poorly performing sector worsens if the budget is not extensive and thus reflective of a poorly performing National Budget. This is the priority of this unit, to ensure that struggling sectors and poor economic conditions are supported and improved, respectively, by the National Budget through informing policy.

The Structural Reform Unit and the Investment Unit of the centre is focused on Advancing Rescue, Recover and Rebuild. Both units are essential priorities for advancing all three R’s of the theme.  The Structural Reform unit aims at to Advance Rescue through outdated polices and enacted laws to ensure the survival of depressed sectors of the economy, to support recovery efforts in PNG’s economic development agenda and to rebuild through ensuring the revision of policies to take into account and support the growing importance of digitalization as the way forward. The priority of the Investment Unit in Advancing Rescue lies in its work to ensure substantial investment is directed to distressed industries, as well to support the country’s development agenda in our recovery prospects, and to support the growth of our digital economy as an agenda in rebuilding economic participation.

UNITS

National Budget Performance Data

The National Budget Performance Data Unit will focus on tracking and monitoring government activities that are critical for business in PNG in conjunction with the National Budget. This Unit will look at identifying and developing policy priorities to support business in the market in line with the National Budget’s performance and related Government policy implementations, including advice to government on business priorities in the National Budget.

Business Performance Data

The Business Performance Unit will focus on analysing the market conditions in PNG and how this data can promote and advance the private sector’s agenda for 2022.  This will be carried out by monitoring, evaluating, and tracking the performance of its constituent members and non-members, by sector, industry, provincial, or nationally in order to forecast trends that will affect and inform decision-making and guide the narrative of the private sector. This will enable the BCPNG to foresee and boost its responsiveness to changes in market conditions in the country, and regionally.  Its activities will include data collection, data analysis, and data application. The BCPNG’s Fresh Program will support this Unit’s activities.

Investment

Investment remains the forefront of Papua New Guinea’s economic development aspirations in its endeavour to become a middle-income economy by 2030, and for PNG to become a “healthy, wealthy and wise nation” by 2050. With Covid-19 restricting many investment activities within the country, the investment unit will aim to advance the BCPNG’s 2022 theme of “The New Normal: Advancing Rescue, Recovery and Rebuilding” through promoting investment policies and undertakings within the country in order to see improvement and productivity, hence increasing the competitiveness of the PNG economy. Sectors such as, digital technology, tourism, agriculture; and domestic and foreign investments are some of the key areas in which the investment unit will collaborate with to promote and advance investment initiatives.

Structural Reforms

Structural Reform is crucial for economic growth as it creates a pathway for new developments. With COVID-19 restricting traditional trade and investment initiatives, PNG now requires Structural reform in its system, more than ever, to change and advance our economic development initiatives to function efficiently, in tune to regional trade and investment trends.  The Structural Reform unit will collaborate with Government partners to work closely to address impediments and tackle obstacles in order to achieve growth in a balanced and more productive way. The unit’s primary concern is on structural reform and how that reformation on policies and laws will promote business performances, particularly in depressed sectors and moreover other favourable sectors. Furthermore, structural reform is an essential aspect in driving investment which are both contingently of a significant agenda in advancing the ‘Rescue, Recover, Rebuild’ efforts and dialogues that have ensued in 2021.

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