Country needs new direction

THE change of government eight months ago was to bring new direction and leadership.
Many had the understanding that the new government will carry on with the fast pace of infrastructural development initiated by the previous government while cutting back on borrowing by exploring self-sustainable models.
Sadly, this is not the case.
The pattern of profound development since independence surging economic growth was short circuited and completely put off.
Yet, with no alternate self-sustaining models to substitute, the government brought in economic hit men from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to design the 2020 Budget and plan Papua New Guinea’s economic future.
The result is PNG will crawl back to IMF and World Bank to implement the budget shortfalls and will continue to depend on these organisations.
Today the Treasurer is talking about borrowing K3.8 billion and come next year this figure will double.
This is something successive governments tried to avoid as much as possible after learning the painful lessons from countries in the third world.
Sir Mekere Morauta’s People’s Democratic Movement led government was kicked out of office in 2002, because he leaned more towards IMF and World Bank policies on land mobilisation and structural adjustment programmes.
The IMF and World Bank loans come with conditions designed specifically to exploit a country’s weakness to ply their dependency channel.
These organisations are tools of neo-colonialism craftily employed by the West to keep the growing economies in check so that they maintain the status quo and continue exerting their influence.
It is not a secret that many counties in Africa are experiencing extreme challenges and are light years behind development because they couldn’t break off from the dependency syndrome.
We are no different to them in many areas – disease, illiteracy, under-development, poor governance and leadership – hence easily susceptible to go down the same path.
In one of my earlier commentaries, I forewarned that our country’s economic fate is left at the mercy of foreign economic mercenaries by a recklessness Treasurer and now this coming to pass.
It is common knowledge that the Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey has a track record of working ostensibly outside conventional norms or established systems and process.
Therefore, he is not a fit and proper person to hold that key ministerial portfolio.
Before he plunges the country into further debacle, Prime Minister James Marape has to find a suitable candidate within his ranks to replace him forthwith.

David Lepi
Pan Melanesia