NRI report reviews 35 yrs of progress

PAPUA New Guinea must understand where it has gone wrong in the past in order to make a successful stride forward, an opposition MP and former deputy prime minister has said.
Abau MP Sir Puka Temu said it meant critically analysing past performances in key policy areas and to draw from past lessons.
He said this on Tuesday when he launched a National Research Institute publication, Papua New Guinea’s Development Performance 1975-2008.
The report took stock of 35 years of policy decision-making in PNG and assessed how past policies, politics and plans had impacted PNG’s development as well as suggesting what lessons could be learned for the future.
NRI director Dr Thomas Webster said the report examined the role that key government policy agents had played in shaping PNG’s progress since independence.
“It covers the history of development plans which guide government policy and resource allocation and outlines PNG’s record in fiscal and monetary policies and how, in a context of good economic and political governance, these policies can create economic growth and social development outcomes,” Webster said in summation of the report.
The report is a “must-read” for decision makers and Papua New Guineans involved in implementing Vision 2050, the country’s roadmap for the next 40 years.
It noted that PNG had a mixed development record with successes and achievements offset by periods of missed opportunity.
“While development history has been shaped by international and unplanned events such as oil price shocks, commodity booms and the Bougainville crisis, there are many areas within the control of government that could be improved,” Webster said.
The report suggested that PNG had progressed in a number of social areas, as reflected by improvements in life expectancy, infant mortality and childhood immunisation.
However, progress against a number of indicators had stalled in the past decade in areas such as primary school enrolments.
It noted that government revenue had doubled since independence but the nation’s GDP growth had not fared so well.