PM urges BPNG to do its bit

PRIME Minister James Marape has challenged the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) to play a role in helping the country achieve the aim of becoming a K200 billion economy over the next 10 years.
Marape said this at the central bank’s 50th anniversary celebration in the National Capital District yesterday.
Marape said that BPNG needed to take on the challenge of coming up with robust monetary policies while the national government would provide fiscal policy to support the aspirations Papua New Guineans.
Marape said he wanted the country to take a leap in terms of its economy and living standard over the next decade that would match what it had gained in the last half century.
He said the ambitious goal would require all State agencies and departments to “operate outside of their comfort zones” and forge new paths.
“Push the limits, and do what you can with the tools you have to assist our economy and make it a big economy, where it will have given us the ability to have the modern PNG.
“I want to encourage the Bank as we search for the right combination, eliminate any element of doubt you have in you and have the courage and the ability to push forward with courage knowing that you can be used as an instrument to propel the economy to the next stage,” he said.
Marape said he was not there just to congratulate BPNG for a job well done since its establishment 50 years ago but to challenge them as well to strive to be better and to help his Government achieve its goal of having a K200 billion economy by 2033.
He said the country’s prospects looked promising with the development of its natural resources over the next decade to boost the economy to a new high.
Marape said the Government would not dictate or hinder the work of BPNG but rather would work with it to achieve the best outcomes. “That is my grantee as the Prime Minister at this time that Government won’t be interfering with whatever you do,” Marape said.
“Building a beneficial economic environment that allows for participation of the population.
“I encourage you to not be complacent, but to give your best to whatever is that you are doing and together we can be able to serve the national interest, which is the interest of the people from a wide sector of the community.”