Country’s progress reflects on Govt: Church leader

THE contrasting images of wealth in abundance and poor living standards compounded by poor infrastructure in the country says a lot about PNG’s governance and management of wealth, a church head says.
Evangelical Lutheran church of PNG (ELCPNG) head bishop Rev Jack Urame said development and progress did not reflect the abundant natural resources in the country. Speaking during the church partnership programme’s (CPP) 29th biannual forum in Lae yesterday, he said this was a negative image to the reality of the country as a nation richly blessed with abundant resources.
“Large companies from overseas come into our country in the name of development but not much has changed, except Port Moresby,” Rev Urame said. “By bringing in those foreign companies, we continue to promote the conventional model of the extractive industry.
“Large companies come in and extract what belongs to the people without investing much back into the country.
“People are proud to be landowners of the resources today but, tomorrow, they will be gone and we will be left with nothing to improve our living standards.”
Rev Urame said resources had their life span and would one day be depleted.
He said and when the gold, copper, gas, oil, timber and other resources disappeared, we will not be left with sealed roads, health and education services, better living standards but with empty holes in the ground.
environmental destruction and social disorder.
He said the biggest problem PNG would encounter one day when the resources were gone was huge debt and hindered development.
“We will be unable to build our country and lift the living standards of our country but continue to depend on other countries, on foreign banks or foreign development partners like our present case for development money.
“We are all accountable to our present and future generations. Therefore every decision we make today about our resources and their use should hold the future in perspective,” Urame said.