Budget slated

By MALUM NALU

THE Opposition yesterday described the 2015 Budget as a “hoax” and “hocus pocus” which should be rejected in its entirety by the people.

In one of the more lively and animated Parliament session this year, Opposition budget spokesman Don Polye said the K879.3 million 2014 Supplementary Budget and the K16.1 billion 2015 Budget “are nothing more than a hoax, a deceitfully planned deception, for theft and corruption”.

He said the Government’s presentation of the 2015 budget was “embarrassing and unprofessional”.

“The amateurish presentation of the whole budget leaves much to be desired,” he said.

Polye said the Capital Investment Book Volume Three, which the Opposition

MPs were querying during the tabling of the Budget on Tuesday last week by Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch, was “thrown into our office midnight Wednesday”.

He said it was a new version of the Treasurer’s speech booklet “different from the one presented during the budget presentation”.

“The conduct of this Government is a nightmare by good governance standards,” he said

The debate ended at 7pm last night and will continue today before a vote is taken. 

He accused the Government of:

• Spending public funds exorbitantly in a few centres and on non-priority areas;
• blowing the budget out of proportion by K879.3m;
• committing the people and the country to a huge debt of K3b, a very costly commercial loan raising the public debt level to K17,488.4  million;
• breaching the country’s Constitution and the laws and breaching the Government’s own macroeconomic policies; and,
• Giving jobs and contracts to preferred contractors and family businesses, hence depriving Papua New Guineans of shared wealth distribution and inclusive growth.

“The record set by this Government is very negative for PNG, thus, the nation will experience even more perilous times in 2015, in the medium term and in the long term, if this reckless behaviour continues,” Polye said.