Govt seeing private sector as key to growth

Business

By MARK HAIHUIE
THE government has to be clear on its role in the private sector especially when it comes to the function of State-owned enterprises (SoEs), says Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Charles Abel.
He said the private sector was a key component for country growth and that government involvement in that space was not fully optimised.
Abel was speaking at a Nasfund employers’ conference this week in Port Moresby.
“It is so critical to our economy, to our revenue, to the generation of employment and it is the engineroom for growth in the country,” he said.
“I think the government needs to take a look at itself and acknowledge its role in terms of fostering the private sector.
“The government needs to get those principles right and to examine some of the examples like what has happened in the superannuation industry and the banking with Bank South Pacific.
“As soon as the government relinquished its control, involvement and interference, there has been quite a turnaround in the performance ultimately for the benefit of our people.
“The government needs to continue to recognise the significance of these events, and to examine its role in terms of how it regulates and also how it involves itself in the private sector.
“I have said this before that the government’s role is to be a regulator, to create the circumstances that empower the private sector, and to some extent recognise that it may not be the best operator in regards to running businesses.”