Stay home and clean up

PERHAPS Papua New Guineans can learn a thing or two from the Sydney, Australia, conference last week.
Former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, long used to Papua New Guinea and its talkative politicians, did not mince words.
She fairly told Papua New Guinea: “Stop begging for aid.
“Stop begging for investment.
“You have been independent 47 long years.
“You have sufficient resources.
“About time you did something of your own.”
That would have been sobering.
Lesson one – Stop begging for aid.
At the last review of Australia’s aid to PNG, the aid bill from that direction had reached K28 billion.
That amount will easily now be up to K50 billion.
What lasting infrastructure has the aid money built?
What import replacement industry has aid assisted in standing up?
How has aid fared in lowering infant and maternal mortality or reduced poverty or improved living standards.
These are quantifiable and verifiable factors on the human and economic indexes.
If the present indexes are negligible or dropping, then the most important question of all is: Where has all the aid money gone?
Lesson two: Stop begging for investment.
You attract foreign direct investment by the incentives you offer, by the taxation regime you have, by the stable political climate you offer and security for investment and safety of employees that is in place.
Do not go on foreign investment missions until these issues are sorted out at home.
Do not go ask for investors if you have not started up Wafi Golpu, Papua LNG, Pnyang LNG and Porgera gold mine.
Nobody is blind or a fool.
Everybody is well aware what goes on in PNG.
Lesson three: Think trade, not aid or loans.
When you think in that direction you think about what you must grow or produce at home for trade.
You must think markets, volumes, quality and sustainability.
You must think about local manufacturing industries and growth of service industries.
Lesson four: Enough talking, time for action.
Do we need to even need an explanation for this last lesson?
When you look at the lessons proffered here, you can easily see that much of the things that need doing must be done in the country.
Even PNG’s neighbours are tiring of hearing PNG talking about this plan or that plan or whatever other plan without seeing any of the plans bearing fruit.
Since Somare broached the 8-Point Plan in 1973 and the five National goals and Directive Principles have been written into the Preamble of the National Constitution, PNG has been planning forever but never getting up to work the plans.
It has been forever asking others to do the things it itself seems loathe to do.
These others, Australia being a principal partner in this, are now telling us: enough is enough.
It is time the globe-trotting ceased and the trips to expos stopped.
Putting Julie Bishop in the line-up of speakers also means the conference organisers thought the time was ripe for some straight talking.
Stay home and clean up the backyard.