Give priority to sustainable services: President

EMPHASIS must be given to sustainable and well-maintained infrastructure and services rather than subsidies and price support, says Farmers and Settlers Association Inc president Wilson Thompson.
“The association represents the agriculture sector, rural businesses and the agri-processing industry in PNG,” he said.
He said employers welcomed Prime Minister James Marape’s focus on economic empowerment through agriculture and the private sector.
“From past experience, subsidies and price support will not be productive unless they are judiciously targeted and time-limited as (they are) sustainable,” he said.
“More emphasis needs to be directed to sustainable and well-maintained infrastructure and services rather than subsidies and/or price supports.
“There really is no value or sustainability in subsidising or price supporting inherently uncompetitive activities.
“So restrict the application to just the inherently competitive, and then only just for a limited duration crisis support.”
He said the Government focused on small-medium businesses, downstream processing investments and import replacement investments (including direct foreign investment) but “there remains a critical gap in regard to the relationship between public and private sectors for core development and socioeconomic decision-making”.
“This needs to be addressed (such as) by strengthening the institutional capacity of the private sector (for example industrial organisations) to participate more effectively in this space. It remains a critical weakness,” he said.
Thompson urged the Government not to get directly involved in industries such as non-tuna fisheries and forestry and downstream refining of precious metals.
“We are likely to see greater levels of corruption distorting the respective marketplaces if it is permitted as seen in past,” he said.