Polye slams PM on projects

 PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has been officiating on projects across the country, which were solely the work of the Somare Government, Opposition leader Don Polye said yesterday.

 “So much has been said about the development projects countrywide during their openings in the public forums, including the mainstream media, but the fact on who were responsible for all these remains misleading,” he said when speaking at a media conference yesterday.

He said on record, the upgrading of impact projects like the Jackson International, Hoskins, Kagamuga, Gurney and Tokua airports among others, was funded by the previous government through the Asian Development Bank. 

Polye said the previous government was also funding the other major transport infrastructure developments, particularly the regional wharves and highways.

 “The only projects the current government funded are in National Capital District alone under the pretext of international events,” Polye claimed.

He said the credit should be given where it was due.

He thanked Civil Aviation Minister Steven Davis for clarifying that he (Polye) was the man responsible for the projects. 

He said the projects derived from the past government’s export-driven strategy which set the economic foundation of the country.

“He (O’Neill) is yet to implement his own development programmes as he has been running the country haphazardly,” a Polye said.

He said the O’Neill Government was good at spending and not at making money.

 “Most of the projects especially in the nation’s capital are not economically justifiable.

“Unequal distribution of resources and wealth has taken precedence over the expense of those provinces that contribute enormously to the Government’s revenue basket,” he said.  

Polye said he doubted that the so-called infrastructure developments in the nation’s capital would add economic value to the country’s economic growth. He described the current development strategy undertaken by the Government as one-sided and unbalanced.

“We are not on track. The challenges to improve the livelihood of our people are still outstanding,” Polye said. “Our global development indexes have been worsened and yet no effort has been exerted by the Government to arrest them.”

Polye cited that PNG’s global corruption index was among the worst.

He  queried whether the future of the country was on track when the development challenges still remained unaddressed.