Economic sector funding up 15pc

The Government has increased the economic sector funding from six per cent this year to 15 per cent in the 2018 Budget, National Planning and Monitoring Minister Richard Maru says.
“I am more than convinced that the 2018 Budget will enhance the pre-conditions for sustainable economic growth in the short to medium term,” he said.
“This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to Alotau Accord Two to make economic growth our number one priority. There have been nominal increases in all other sectors of the economy as well.
“The 2018 national budget has been framed within a very tight fiscal environment, and Treasurer and myself with our secretaries and the technical teams from Treasury and Planning have had a challenging time within the resource constraints to ensure we deliver the quality 2018 Budget that will allow the Government to continue to deliver services to our people in the rural areas while also stimulating much-needed growth, resulting in increased exports, reduced imports and create more jobs for our citizens.
“Against the backdrop of a declining economic growth in the last three years, appropriate development interventions have been designed in the 2018 Budget to reverse this trend and build a more robust and a resilient economy for our country.”