PM plans to shift development to rural areas

By JEFFERY ELAPA
PRIME Minister James Marape plans to shift development away from Port Moresby into the rural areas where the majority of the people live.
“We appreciate we have stadium in Port Moresby and we have a road from swamp to swamp at 9-Mile,” he said.
“But the government under Pangu will shift investment into rural areas where the masses are. We will use the borrowings if necessary to open up highway and infrastructure in the Sepik plains, Markham and Ramu plains, highlands highways, and all the highways and get the message to our people to go into agriculture.”
He said as a member of the Peter O’Neill-led government as Finance Minister, he had to accept some blame for the economic downturn facing the nation.
“We accept some responsibility as part of the former government but we played different roles,” he said. “I was expenditure minister when I was in finance ministry. Policies were controlled by the PM or Treasury. If I was PM like Peter O’Neill seven years ago, I would have done the same thing he did – that our revenue basis is too small and our expenditure is so big.”
But he said they differed in areas we invested in.
“I choose to invest in economic infrastructure while he chose to invest in social infrastructure only based in Port Moresby. That is why some of us differed.”
He said he wanted investment which would yield and not in areas which would not grow.
Marape also plans to free the nation from debts.
“These group of leaders standing with me dream of a time when we don’t borrow money anymore.
“There must be life in our nation’s history where we mustn’t borrow money,” he said. “We are not beggars for aids and grants but become lenders ourselves. We become givers to ourselves, to our Pacific brothers. And this is the big picture that is driving us.”