PNG Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Resigns from Government
Papua New Guinea Member for Aitape-Lumi and Leader of the National Alliance Party , Patrick Pruaitch has resigned as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade and explained why he supports Opposition to oust Prime Minister James Marape.
'My political party will jealously guide the honourable intentions of our founding fathers to have an inclusive society, and today a pro-growth agenda as we wisely leverage our economic assets and significant resource endowments to resuscitate our ailing economy.
“Taking more debt to fund recurrent expenditure is offensive to any rational thinking leader”. The Marape Government has increased the total debt stock by 38% from K33.669 billion in 2019 to K46.464 billion which is only in the last 18 months.
“Sadly, for the past year I have been part of a government that has taken the PNG economy on a path of self-destruction, while creating a false sense of progress by promising future prosperity with emotive slogans,” he said.
Mr. Pruaitch said closure of the Porgera mine since April has impacted PNG export revenues, government revenue and the lives of 3,600 retrenched mine workers. Numerous landowner groups and other PNG companies, that provided goods and services, are also suffering. PNG real GDP has contracted by K900million as a result of the forced shutdown of mine operations of Porgera to date.
“What is not common knowledge,” he said, “is that arbitrary policy shifts for resources, driven by the Petroleum Minister, Hon. Kerenga Kua, has adversely impacted investor confidence and the nation’s overall economic outlook.
“The downward trend in agricultural output since 2011 has accelerated under the Marape Government. The World Bank recently said declining production last year caused agricultural export revenues to fall by almost 20%.
“The Marape Government noted that 100,000 jobs were lost in the six years to mid-2019, but remains silent on the 40,000 to 50,000 jobs destroyed by policy decisions taken in the past 18 months - and not as a consequence of COVID19.
“The path of self-destruction began in the early days of the Marape Government when conflicting statements were made about the signed and sealed agreement on the US$13 billion Papua LNG Project.
“In the second half of last year employees of Papua LNG, P’nyang and Wafi Golpu were disbanded and these projects placed in hibernation. The policy environment has worsened since closure of Porgera.”
Mr. Pruaitch said the public have been given a false sense of progress with alluring slogans such as “Take Back PNG” and promises to turn PNG into “the Richest Black Christian Nation – Where No Child Is Left Behind” when, in reality, thousands of families are being forced into lives of poverty as jobs disappear and agricultural output shrinks.
“A number of colleagues in Vanimo, who were Ministers in the Marape Government, have termed the current policy scenario, “Take PNG Backwards”, a trajectory we are determined to reverse through the impending vote of no confidence in Parliament.
Mr. Pruaitch said this government has shown incredible ineptitude in the way it handled Porgera, forcing the mine to shut operations at a time of record gold prices. The government never had a clear plan on the way forward.
He said the situation will only get worse as the Petroleum Minister tries to ram through legislative amendments to introduce Production Sharing Contracts for future mining and petroleum projects, ignoring a history of legislative reform that occurred after the Bougainville crisis in the late 1980s. This included greatly improved benefits for landowners and for Provincial and Local Level Governments.
These changes to PSCs are being pursued without the benefit of a comprehensive Cabinet submission or Department of Treasury analysis on its impact on government revenue and PNG’s economic performance.
“Prime Minister Marape has been misled by Minister Kua, declaring in public statements that future resource projects will not progress unless 60% of project revenues flow to government. Anyone familiar with mining and petroleum companies will be aware that under these conditions there are likely to be no new investments in development or exploration.
According to MH Intelligence (UK) Ltd, an independent consultancy providing advisory services to governments and corporations, the introduction of PSCs for mining in PNG could lead one to assume “that the intention of the PNG Government is to force foreign companies and investors out of PNG permanently. If this is their objective, it is highly likely that it will be achieved.”
Mr. Pruaitch said the pursuit of current policies were a formula for a downward spiral in PNG’s economic performance.
“When foreign investors come to PNG to invest in mining, agriculture or other activities PNG needs to provide a level playing field, while ensuring that significant benefits flow into PNG and provide a platform for people to participate and prosper.
“This will not happen while Porgera remains shut and agriculture production and exports continue its downward slide, placing average output and incomes in jeopardy while PNG’s population continues to grow.”
Post a Comment