Debt is part of life, Vele tells student forum

 ACTING Treasury secretary Dairi Vele says borrowing money is part of life, whether it is by an individual, a business or a country.
He made the comment at a forum organised by students of the University of Papua New Guinea last Friday to discuss the K3 billion loan by the State to buy shares in Oil Search Ltd.
Other speakers were sacked Treasurer Don Polye, Public Investment and State Enterprises Minister Ben Micah and Finance Minister James Marape.
“Debt is a part of life,” Vele said.
“(Current PNG) 35% debt ratio is quite low.
“We don’t have a Sovereign Wealth Fund yet but we will.
“In the future, the Sovereign Wealth Fund will make decisions like this on a daily basis.”
Polye was cheered by the students when he explained why he refused to sign the loan, which resulted in his sacking by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
Polye told the story of how as a young engineer he made sure that his old mother benefitted from his first fortnight pay.
Polye said unlike his mother, PNG would not benefit from first proceeds of the LNG project as these would be used to pay back the UBS loan.
He said later that Micah and Marape did not come out with the facts that the students wanted.