Basil focuses on balanced budget, reduce borrowing

THE new Treasury Minister Sam Basil pledged to provide the leadership needed to make sure the country achieved a balanced Budget by 2022.
The Bulolo MP said he would need the support of everyone to achieve that goal through improved taxation streams and reduced borrowing.
Basil said he was committed to Prime Minister James Marape’s vision to turn Papua New Guinea a “wealthy black Christian nation”.
Basil said the terms of reference delivered by Marape was clear and the first task was to achieve a balanced budget by 2022, reducing debt to GDP (gross domestic product) to an acceptable level, increasing tax revenue collection by 50 per cent, enhance taxation compliance, reform the tax system to provide more effective collection, review tax arrangements of major resource projects, modify the resources development project taxation framework and best practice guide, and empower provincial government tax collection.
Basil said he expected Treasury to deliver for the sake of the economy and that would translate into the wellbeing and wealth of the people.
He said at the next Parliament sitting, the Government would deliver the state of economy and by 2022, he expected the economy to be in better shape.
“We will work very hard to strive for the best over the next two years,” Basil said.
He also acknowledged the work former Treasurer Charles Abel had done since 2017 elections.
He acknowledged Abel’s initiative to push for the inaugural sovereign bond drive, and that had put PNG on the world map.