O’Neill Says IMF Report Confirms PNG Economy 20% Smaller Than It Should Be
Former prime minister argues government failed to deliver despite favourable global conditions
Former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has launched a fresh attack on the government following the release of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report showing that the country’s economy is 20 percent smaller than projected. According to IMF Resident Representative Sohrab Rafiq, the economy would have been significantly larger if it had maintained its pre-2019 and pre-Covid growth trajectory.
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| O’Neill Says IMF Report Confirms PNG Economy 20% Smaller Than It Should Be |
O’Neill said the IMF’s assessment indirectly validated his administration’s economic performance. He compared the economic expansion under his leadership with the current government, noting that Papua New Guinea’s GDP grew from just under K30 billion in 2011 to nearly K85 billion in 2019 before the change of leadership.
He argued that despite global market conditions favouring the current administration, including a doubling of gold prices from an average of US$1,250 per ounce during his term to around US$2,500 since 2019, Prime Minister James Marape and Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey had failed to deliver real improvements in the lives of Papua New Guineans.
Instead, O’Neill said the country has been hit by rampant crime, corruption, rising living costs, worsening debt levels, shortages of medicine, falling currency value, and a lack of employment opportunities. He described the current economic situation as a “drought on jobs” and a burden on ordinary citizens struggling to make ends meet.
The former prime minister criticised the government for repeatedly blaming Covid-19 for its shortcomings, insisting that the pandemic struck months after the leadership change and should not be used as an excuse for what he described as incompetence and corruption. He said the IMF report confirmed that the economy would be 20 percent bigger if policies from his administration had continued.
O’Neill explained that while he does not view the IMF as the ultimate authority on economic truth, its recent findings supported his argument that the country has regressed since 2019. He said economic assessments should be based on how families are coping, business investments, and job opportunities for young people, all of which, he argued, have declined under the current regime.
He stated that he remains active in politics because he believes Papua New Guinea is going backwards. While acknowledging his time in office was not perfect, O’Neill said the economic strategies of his government had created a stronger foundation for growth compared to what he described as the failures of the current leadership.
According to O’Neill, the lost 20 percent growth represents a massive missed opportunity for the people of Papua New Guinea. He said millions of citizens have not only been denied this potential uplift but must also endure what he called “constant nonsense statements and lies” from the Marape administration while living under increasingly difficult economic and social conditions.
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