Brown: Consult all citizens on the fund

BUSINESSMAN and former Gazelle MP Sinai Brown has supported the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) as the correct approach to managing billions of kina from development of natural resources, including the multi-billion LNG project.
However, he was concerned that such an important multi-billion kina fund had been put together in Waigani without any involvement of the people in all provinces.
“What is the use of holding regional forums when views of provinces will simply be ignored now that the Organic Law for the fund has been gazetted and ready for tabling in parliament with the 2012 budget?” He asked.
Brown said it was important that people in all provinces were consulted as was the case with setting up of superannuation funds.
He said there were far more Papua New Guineans living in provinces and who were knowledgeable on such issues and their views had to be collected and considered.
“Public servants and advisors in Waigani must not come here and try to impose foreign ideas on our people,” Brown said, following a sovereign wealth fund forum held in Kokopo on Monday.
He said it was difficult for people to make any meaningful contribution when there was no advance information available through the media, which has a wider coverage.
He said only a few people in the country had access to the draft sovereign wealth fund legislation that was available on the internet.
Brown said revenue from the non-renewable resource sector must be used to grow the economy through new investments to support the growth of the renewable sector, particularly agriculture.
He said it was important Papua New Guinea learnt from past experiences such as those related to PNG Sustainable Development Programme and invest more in building its domestic capacity.
He said that could eventually result in the country becoming a global financial centre.
Brown expressed strong disagreement with the view that such revenues should fund rehabilitation programmes or recurrent expenditure through the budget.
“How can we leap-frog our economy if we continue with the same old ways that have not worked for many years,” he asked.
He said it was time people took bold and innovative action to safeguard the future direction of the domestic economy.
Brown appealed to the national government not to introduce the sovereign wealth fund law this month in Parliament.
Instead, he urged the government to give everyone across the country sufficient time to digest the concept and initial design of the fund.
 “If the national government is truly concerned about the people then it must sit down and spend adequate time to listen to us, not just rush through legislation that the public does not understand or support,” Brown said.