Stop investing outside, former minister says

FORMER government minister Sam Akoitai has urged resource owners to stop investing outside the country, but instead look at local business opportunities.
Akoitai, the former mining minister, told Petroleum Resource Kutubu chairman John Kapi Natto to stop investing in Fiji and invest in PNG.
Kapi Natto was in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville for a familiarisation and goodwill visit as guest of Bougainville Football Federation last week.
Akotai said: “If you want to encourage tourism in the country, the stakeholders such as resources owners must start here by building infrastructure.
“Only if we have tourism infrastructure and a conducive environment, can PNG attract more tourism instead of going overseas to invest there.
“When the resource owners invest overseas in places like Fiji and others, then the tourists will flock there while Papua New Guinea will miss big time in tourism money.”
Akoitai said he was happy to see a lot of investment currently taking place in Port Moresby especially where landowners were building hotels.
However, the resource owners needed to go to places such as Bougainville where they have not gone before to help promote tourism with their mega-bucks.
He also expressed sincere gratitude towards resource owners in Southern Highlands and Hela province for rebuilding and relocating the Rigu High School in Arawa.