Call for review of population project

Northern Governor Gary Juffa has commended Prime Minister Peter O’Neill for admitting that nobody knows the real population of the country.
He was responding to O’Neill admitting in Parliament on Tuesday that nobody knew the exact population because no proper national
census had been conducted since 2000.
Juffa has been one of the strongest critics of the National Statistical Office (NSO) and the K250 million National Identification (NID) Project.
“I believe that the PM should be commended for admitting that the Government has no idea about the true population of the country,” he told The National.
“His statement, pledging to find out the true population of the nation, should not be seen just as an admission of fiscal management failure by the Government but as a starting point for rectifying a major impediment
to development and service delivery.
“All sides of the House should support the crucial effort to determine an accurate understanding of the population of Papua New Guina.
“This is the basis of all government planning, especially for budgets and allocation of limited resources.
“What they must now do is totally overhaul the National Statistical Office and rebuild it, and furthermore, review the failed NID Project.
“Why did it fail and who was responsible and what pecuniary or recovery action will be taken?”