Sir Puka calls for united effort

ACTING Prime Minister Sir Puka Temu has urged all citizens to believe in their dreams, be optimistic, take ownership and personalise Vision 2050.
Speaking at the closing of a one-day forum hosted by the Australian National University (ANU) and the Institute of National Affairs (INA) at the University of PNG last Friday, Sir Puka challenged everyone to be hopeful and to embrace the changes and challenges currently faced in the country from politics to service delivery.
“For the first time since Independence, our Government and the people have been given the opportunity to pump resources into our key areas such as health and education.
“We have not experienced that before; we have it now and it is up to us to make it work,” Sir Puka said.
“We need to take ownership of all our plans and dreams because we are all nation builders.
“Vision 2050 is a plan of knowing where the country is going and the challenge of getting there.”
He said since education and health were key areas, good leadership and Government support should be given to institutions that provide and promote these sectors.
“We must develop a leadership culture at all levels of our communities.
“This should begin at the student level, particularly in high schools. This way, we can build a good leadership culture early.”
Sir Puka said from good leadership come better informed, educated citizens who can hold leaders accountable.
The forum also covered issues such as HIV/AIDS, the millennium development goals, informal sector and mobile phone usage in villages, economic survey on oil, gas and mining, urban property, macro-economy and fiscal management.