Namah told not to mislead people

TREASURER Ian Ling-Stuckey has called on Opposition Leader Belden Namah not to mislead the people with claims that the Government will force up the prices of all imported goods by more than 20 per cent.
Ling-Stuckey refuted claims around business circles that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was imposing a devaluation of the kina by more than 20 per cent.
“Namah’s statement is extremely irresponsible. As the country is facing a major economic crisis because of the coronavirus (Covid-19), he jumps up on his high horses and blurts out – that will damage the economy,” Ling-Stuckey said in a statement.
“I am going through and releasing all of the 31 key performance indicators (KPIs) included in the IMF staff-monitored programme (SMP).
“It is very clear that the KPIs are from the Marape-Steven economic reform programme.
“Of course, the standard SMP announcement from the IMF is always similar as they have to meet their own internal rules,” he said.
Ling-Stuckey said the KPIs in the programme documents were about PNG’s home-grown reforms.
There is no IMF-imposed condition of a devaluation of over 20 per cent.
“The value of all coffee, cocoa and other cash crops also goes up by 20 per cent. So every bag of coffee gets 20 per cent more kina.
“And a 20 per cent devaluation would translate to a 6 per cent shift in average prices, not a 20 per cent increase.”