Comparative development vital: Chan

NEW Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan says comparative development, a way to measure progress with real projects and avoid expensive mistakes, will be a better method for PNG to make improvements.
The former prime minister told those present at a recent Divine Word University (DWU) alumni corporate fundraising dinner in Port Moresby that PNG would improve development if “comparative development” was offered as a course in local universities.
“Many countries in the world have gone through the process of development and many mistakes have been made, with lessons learnt and PNG does not have to make the same mistakes others have made.” he said.
Sir Julius said such a course would “look at other countries and see the obstacles and challenges they faced and how they had overcame those obstacles to put them where they are today”.
“While PNG is a Pacific Islands country, we are big in landmass with resources and only about eight million people compared with some powerful countries in the world but we are not getting enough from the resources we are exporting.”
The governor said this was because PNG negotiators sat across the table with major international companies and negotiated deals that gave a huge advantage to those companies “because our negotiators do not know how the rest of the world has negotiated”.
“We need young people who will graduate and go into the workforce and can sit across the table from ExxonMobil or Newcrest and negotiate with full knowledge of the kind of deals that other countries around the world have struck,” Sir Julius said.
Sir Julius emphasised the importance of education of young people to be “equal to any expatriate who comes to exploit our resources with no objection to making a profit but not excessive, with equal benefits
for Papua New Guineans”.