By NIDRA KEWERE MAPI
ALL industries including tourism have been affected by the increase in the cost of fuel, and the Government must ensure that Papua New Guineans are not paying more than they should be.
This was said by Minister for Culture and Tourism Charles Abel in a press statement yesterday, where he expressed his concerns over the price of fuel having an impact on the tourism industry and business in general.
“It is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that citizens and businesses in PNG are not paying more than they should be as this will contribute to our lack of competitiveness with the rest of the world,” Mr Abel said.
He said PNG was a relatively expensive country to visit and part of the problem was that it had a high cost structure that was largely due to the monopolisation of key industries like fuel supply, electricity, communications and air transport.
Mr Abel, who had recently returned from visiting his electorate, was concerned with the way the increase in the price of fuel had affected the daily lives of the people in his electorate.
He stated that the people of Alotau Open and other electorates in Milne Bay province travelled for hours in open sea to get home, get to town, get to school or the aid posts, and all these needed petrol or fuel.
“Any increase in the cost of fuel directly impacts the lives of our people, especially those in remote areas who don’t have ready access to basic services.”
Mr Abel said he saw no reason why the price of fuel should not be competitive with the world market fuel prices as PNG produced its own crude oil at Kutubu and also had an offshore refinery at Napanapa.
He added that the continued use of fossil fuels contributed to global warming, which caused damage to the environment and also in raising the sea level.