Marape: Continuous govt change hinders growth

FINANCE Minister James Marape on Wednesday said the continuous change of government has hindered development in the country.
Marape told parliament a government must be stable for the healthy progress of a nation but that had not been the case with Papua New Guinea since independence.
“We have witnessed so many changes in the political arena and that is one main factor that much-needed services have not been delivered for the benefit of our people,” he said.
Marpe said PNG had seen short-lived governments that had been unable to deliver much because they had no time to pursue long-term development strategies.
“We have learned much from these past governments and now we need to have stable governments that can deliver on visions and policies that are not only for now but for the future of this nation.”
He said Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had already made his statement to the nation of his visions and policies and urged parliamentarians to work with O’Neill to make them successful.
“Plans for actions have been already outlined by our prime mi­nister and it will now
require us, the incumbent MPs, to work together to bring deve­lopment and stability,” Marape said.
He said, knowing the experience of past go­vernments, the MPs must now not be caught in the fight for the top post but work as united national leaders to deliver for the seven million-plus people.
Marape said a strong opposition was needed for transparency and accountability in the running of the nation.

“We need a strong opposition to provide constructive debates on the floor of the parliament, to keep the government in check but must understand continuous changes of government is not good for development.
 to pursue long-term visions and development plans.”