PM welcomes bank’s pledge

National

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has welcomed the Asian Development Bank’s commitment to Papua New Guinea which is delivering tangible benefits to the nation.
He met the director-general of the Pacific Department of the ADB, Xianbin Yao in Port Moresby last week to discuss a range of issues relating to the ADB’s support to PNG.
O’Neill welcomed the ADB’s interest in expanding infrastructure and investment in primary healthcare.
However, he expressed concern that there were bottlenecks in communications between the departments and the ADB which were delaying the delivery of the projects.
“The people of our nation lose when the bureaucracy does not talk effectively with our development partners,” O’Neill said.
“I will speak further with our department heads and other agencies and see how we can do more as a Government bureaucracy to have clearer lines of communication,” he said.
“We are seeing bottlenecks, delays and people around our country missing out on greater opportunities for development.
“There is no bad intent on the part of the bureaucracy, but we just have to work harder to understand what is needed by our partners, like the ADB, for them to invest.”