Prime Minister O'Neill admits revenue shortfall in 2015 budget

PNG Opposition leader Don Polye

PORT MORESBY: The government’s prolonged denial of PNG’s revenue shortfall in the 2015 Budget has been finally put to a rest when the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill admitted the problem, says Opposition Leader Don Polye.
Blasting O’Neill for agreeing with the Opposition late, Mr Polye said the shortfall was mainly attributed to the global downturn in the oil prices.
He has criticised O’Neill for not acknowledging that the Opposition was correct all the time when his government was misleading the nation.
He reiterated the importance of the Opposition’s call on the government to review the Budget through a supplementary budget to cut down on unnecessary expenditures.
“Without the supplementary budget, the Opposition believes that the prospect of failure for the government policy implementations like free education and free health care are very high,” he said.
Polye has criticised the government for its failure in managing the deficit budget prudently as a matter of urgency.
The supplementary budget, he said, was long due for the government during the last Parliament session before the public account was opened for the policy implementations this year.
“When our alternative government is in power, we will manage the revenue shortfall in the budget through a supplementary budget for the ease of policy implementation and revenue collection.
“In this way, we will avoid expenditure problems,” he said.
The Opposition Leader is the Opposition’s spokesman for Finance and Treasury among other shadow ministerial portfolios.

Media Statement