Happy 43rd, PNG

Main Stories

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill yesterday wished the nation a happy 43rd independence anniversary celebration, and challenged citizens to determine for themselves the country’s future.
“The only people who can deliver a stronger Papua New Guinea are Papua New Guineans ourselves,” he said.
He yesterday began the long weekend celebrations in Wewak where he went to launch the redevelopment of the Wewak General Hospital and the construction of a nursing school, costing K300 million.
O’Neill, said the country was blessed with so many resources and products which the world wanted to buy.
“This is not just our oil and gas resources. We have renewable resources that are in high demand,” he said.
“Our agriculture sector should be the food bowl of the region. We have vast expanses of land, with rich fertile soil that is purely organic.
“We have some of the most amazing tourism sites that people from around the world want to visit.
“But all of this potential is worth nothing if we do not believe in ourselves.”
He said people should be educated to adapt to changes in the modern world.
“This includes dealing with natural disasters brought about by climate change so we can protect our people,” he said.
“We must better adapt to the evolving global economy, so that we not only insulate ourselves from economic shocks, but take advantage of economic opportunity for our people.”
O’Neill stressed the importance of investing in development.
“This means building the roads to transport our goods to the market, to build the airports for our people to travel and to construct the schools that will educate the next generation.
“As a country we have many friends who are helping us to advance, and we value this support, but we must do things for ourselves and chart our own course.
“We need to have confidence in our potential, we have to make firm decisions on our future and we have to stand by those decisions all the way.”