Govt focuses on reforms in key areas

 THE National Government is committed to major change and major reforms in a number of key areas, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says.

He said in Madang on Wednesday that these areas included delivering free school education, improving basic health care, service delivery to provinces, district and local government and expanding economic infrastructure to continue growing the country’s economy.

O’Neill said: “We (the government) are also committed to sharing this growth with our people. We are now committed to providing for pension for our people living with disability by 2015, our old and elderly and retired citizens by 2016, and providing a bonus of young people starting families by 2017 and provide a sustainable housing scheme for all Papua New Guineans by 2017.”

He added that all these were possible because the government was committed to growing the country’s economy through stable policies and stable political leadership.

O’Neill also emphasised the need to grow the number of small to medium businesses owned by Papua New Guineans.

He also provided an update on the country’s economy, describing it as “strong and continues to grow”.

“Our (PNG’s) GOP growth is among the highest in the world. Our growth is largely being driven by the massive construction work associated with our gas and petroleum projects, mining, and the massive infrastructure spending now being carried out by the national government. Interest rates are low, business opportunity high, liquidity high, level of employment high and government debt low,” he said.

“But there is a “down side” in our economy we cannot ignore.”