Govt bureaucracy an impediment: Temu

Government bureaucracy is an impediment to development and needs to be reformed, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Puka Temu said yesterday.
Dr Temu, who is also the Minister for Lands and Physical Planning and Mining, said in his New Year’s message that Government acknowledged its bureaucracy had been an impediment to development aspirations and needed to be reformed so it was efficient and effective in delivering services.
“We will be dialing up the Public Sector Reform Working Group Right Sizing Report, which was commissioned in 2005 and endorsed by the National Executive Council in 2006.”
Dr Temu said the Government’s response to this important development issue was holistic and addressed appointments, performance, resource allocation, management and accountability at national, provincial and district levels.
“Our commitment to resolving many of these impediments is demonstrated by the establishment of a parliamentary committee system to ensure that the public service is result and performance oriented, accountable, transparent, efficient and effective.”
He said the Somare-Temu Government acknowledged that private sector growth was not only critical but a key to wealth creation and realising the vision of peace, harmony and prosperity for PNG.
“As chairman of the Ministerial Committee on National Planning, I will be establishing a secretariat to progress as a matter of high priority key recommendations in the Public Sector Reform Working Group Report addressing the impediments to businesses and investments, improving public infrastructure and supporting rural activities.
“I am pleased to report that the Government has embarked on programmes to increase land availability for development, improve telecommunications, aviation, shipping and stevedoring, energy, tourism, tax incentives, law and order, public infrastructure to facilitate business and private sector growth in the country.”
Dr Temu said that the private sector should appreciate that for many people, especially landowners, the Government reforms were aimed at encouraging a paradigm shift away from their traditional thinking and concepts of land ownership and doing business.
“I believe these reforms are not only necessary but critical because they are based on building partnerships and relationships on trust and mutual respect for the long term benefit of all stakeholders,” Dr Temu said.
He also commended Papua New Guineans for a trouble-free and quiet Christmas celebrations and urged the same for the New Year.