Leaders of optimistic vision rise when their nation is in deep crisis. They point to a future that is better than the present.

Winston Churchill wanted to rescue the world from Hitler’s tyranny and lead the citizens of the world to sunlit uplands in a democratic universe. Dr Martin Luther King dreamed of a nation, where people will not be judged by skin colour but the content of their character.

James Marape’s dream in his maiden speech was to take back Papua New Guinea and make it the richest black Christian nation on earth.

But dreams must be backed by a credible plan. Beyond the silver tongued oratory it must be an achievable blueprint. A plan to make the dream work.

Churchill created a plan to fight Hitler on every front: land, sea and air. King devised a strategy to lead the masses in nonviolent protest against injustice and segregation. The founders of our nation developed an eight-point plan. The National Alliance Party created Vision 2050.

And the Marape government has a plan which now needs to be made tangible with measurable and achievable goals. Without them, the nation will move in a circle and not advance. Without them, the dream will die.

Joel A Barker said that action without vision just passes the time. But vision with action can change the world. President Kennedy dreamed of sending man to the moon in a decade. The dream had a plan and the plan was executed. As a result, America sent men into space.

So the Marape government must commit resources, and align itself to achieve the dream. Then take bold action to make it a reality. Without bold action, dreams are mere wishful hopes between the covers of expensive consultant reports collecting dust on groaning shelves.

In executing plans there is the toil sweat and pain of action. Action is the engine that makes the dream come true. The rise of Asian nations like Malaysia and South Korea that were backwaters during the era of Western industrialisation, show how we can rise as a nation if we are willing to work hard.

But if all our leaders do is talk and utter pious platitudes without a credible plan and with execution just a hope, then all the political rhetoric will turn out to be just more disappointment for the people.