Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's Christmas message

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has assured every Papua New Guinean that the Country is in good hands in his Christmas message delivered earlier today.

Mr O’Neill in his Christmas message to PNG said: “I wish every citizen a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year as we end this year I know it has been a very challenging year including our Government and of course our country.

“I want to assure every citizen of this country your Government will continue to work for you so that we can have a meaningful change in this country and as a result of that change, your life can get better and the life of your kids and families can improve in the New Year and beyond.”

The Prime Minister emphasized that political stability was the main factor in the Government achieving positive results.

“ I know that it has not been easy year, politically we have had some challenges based on ongoing unfounded allegations as government we were able to maintain stability and this stability has allowed us to achieve the outcomes were able to achieve this year.

“Our country’s performance in terms of the development of the country is very positive and it is getting strength and momentum as we get ready to enter the New Year,” he said.

Mr O’Neill said the economic growth of the past months have been very stable.

He said it has been growing at 8 per cent and the indications are that PNG will end the year on a very strong note.

“Our inflation has been very steady, our interest rates are very steady, our foreign reserve are very high - enough to cover six months of imports and of course our employment levels in the country continue to increase because of Government’s strong commitment into policies that we have introduced.”

He said the Government’s strong investment in the health and education was starting to produce results meaning more kids were going to school.

“We are also investing more morning into higher learning institutions - we put in direct funding in those areas so that we can accommodate for more students in the coming year.

“We have also increased our investment in infrastructure - many roads throughout the country have been built and as a result of that people can move freely to have access to services like markets to sell their goods and earn income for their families

“We will continue to maintain that level of investment in 2016 and 2017 so that we can open up our country.

“I know that next year is going to be a challenging year and many of you know that we have had a decline in oil prices coming through the global economies like in Europe, America. These economies are slowing down- they are struggling to maintain some level of growth. Their economies are our concern because we sell it to those markets,” PM Mr O’Neill said.

He said they would maintain a close watch on these issues and how the global economy trends.

“All in all I can assure you that the economy, the management of the economy, the management of the country is in good hands, we’ve got a hard working government, hardworking ministers, hard working parliament that is working for the good of our people

“We look forward to seeing you in the New Year .

“I thank you for your support, I thank you for your prayers that have been able to give us the strength and encouragement that we need to continue to work for our people.

“Thank you and God bless each and every one of you.”