Private sector support needed to help govt drive investment

THE Government’s role is to build a more conducive environment for the private sector to invest in, says National Planning and Monitoring Minister Richard Maru.
Maru, one of the panelists at the Speakers Investment Summit in Port Moresby yesterday, said the government needed the support of the private sector to achieve the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP).
“Our first and most important goal of the MTDP is to build a bigger, more inclusive and sustainable economy dependent on the non-resources sector. So we are looking at trying to double our internal revenue.
“The government understands that in many areas of services delivery the churches and private sector can do a far greater job than the government.
“We can get far better value from the private sector and the donor partners in order to fund our development programmes.
“We are not changing the donor policy which will be launched very shortly.”
Maru said the government was asking donors to spend 50 per cent of their total budget helping to build infrastructure.
“They have the resources and can do a better job because a lot of resources have been squandered in the past.
“Donor partners can help us meet the sustainable development goal targets by 2030. When we launch the medium-term development strategy, we are keen on building five new national highways to open up parts of the country.”