By ELIZABETH VUVU
FORMER treasurer Sir Rabbie Namaliu has urged the Government to ensure that the benefits derived from high commodity prices are used to develop the country.
The funds should be used to expand and increase access to better infrastructure, education and health services, he said.
All these were badly needed in the rural areas to have a positive impact on the living standards of the people, he said.
Sir Rabbie, who is the former Kokopo MP, was speaking at the 19th graduation ceremony of the OISCA Rabaul Eco-tech Training Centre in East New Britain recently.
He said the country was enjoying the fruits of having a stable political environment and a growing economy because of good economic management and high commodity prices.
However, Sir Rabbie said the high prices would not last forever as they were cyclical.
The challenge, he said, was for the Government to allocate the funds wisely.
He also expressed concern with global warming causing islands to sink and disappear.
“To us therefore, it is the environment and how we nurture it is of paramount importance and the amount of pollution emitted by industrialised and rapidly-industrialising countries such as China, India and Brazil are of real concern,” Sir Rabbie said.