Voters must remember industrialisation is key for growth in PNG

ALLOW me space in your column to say that PNG has missed any form of economic and social transformation in the last 40 years due to wrong policies, wrong government spending and investments.
It requires a holistic change to chart PNG’s development path.
Not the rhetoric Vision 2050 or any strategic development plans as they came a bit too late and still subscribe to the old suppressive and repressive policy regime infiltrated by the colonial regime even after post-independence to keep PNG as a third world country.
If one compares with other emerging economies in the region, it took them only 20 years to transform themselves as the case of China, Singapore, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and so forth. But for PNG, there has been no visible progress at all.
It is still a developing country exporting only raw materials and imports all goods and services leaving a huge outflow of foreign reserves.
No one political party or government since independence to date has got its basic catalyst policy correct to trigger massive sustainable economic growth.
PNG has to amend tax laws and give 10 year tax holidays for establishing new factories and processing plants in all special economic zones.
Such new investment activities brings in capital, technology, know-how and creates unlimited opportunities for growth of economic activities aside employment and triggers the emergence of local middle class. It provides the catalyst to the right type of education and health services and facilities driven by the demand.
PNG has got the formula wrong from independence and is now
described as resource rich, yet poor.
Votes have to be mindful and vote a political party that has industrialisation as its number one policy and we will see real change in the next 20 years.

Galaxy Spencer