Focus on empowering people

THE Government is committed to making Papua New Guineans more resilient and self-reliant by strengthening them economically in their districts and provinces, Prime Minister James Marape says.
Marape, speaking at the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s 32nd national synod in Boana last Sunday, said the Government’s aim was to make people economically independent.
“The Government’s idea of economic independence is to empower people from the provincial level, districts to LLGs to utilise every resource and opportunity to be economically independent,” he said. “This country is blessed with oil, gold, gas, copper and other valuable minerals as well as agricultural resources and yet we are still poor.”
He said his party, Pangu, was one of the founding political parties and was all about economic empowerment for the people.
“What is the utility of Independence if our people are still heavily dependent on the State for money, school fees and health services?”
Marape said every citizen was blessed by God with the ability to be productive in their own right and to help build the nation.