PNG PRIME MINISTER James Marape says the country is on target to become a “K200 billion economy” by 2029, to cater for the increase in the population. “In the past four years, the Government has used responsible deficit budgeting as a tool by investing where it matters most,” he said. He said the Government has been conscious of its ability to borrow at a corporate level, opting for responsible borrowing externally instead of using treasury bills from the Central Bank which had a more expensive borrow-repay regime. He said the country’s deficit financing had been from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ABD), Japan and Australia. In a meeting with the business community in Lae, Marape said in 1975, the country’s economic growth had been below three per cent, while the population growth rate was higher.
The imbalance saw the country struggling to spend on critical infrastructure, to safeguard the business environment and promote growth. He said during the first 28 years of independence under six different prime ministers, the economy had remained below K20 billion. The late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare’s government from 2002 to 2011 grew the economy by K20 billion-K30 billion. Under Peter O’Neill’s eight years at the helm, it grew by K34 billion. His government grew the economy by K35 billion in four years, he said. “In 2019 when we took over, the economy was K80 billion. “Now it has increased to K113 billion – as indicated by the World Bank, IMF, ADB and the Central Bank. “We’re in a fast-pace mode to look at every opportunity and reach a K200 billion economy to catch up with the population growth in the last 40 years.” Read more >> PNG Economy News Statement/TheNational/PNGfacts Also read Comments are closed.
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