Vision 2050 criticised

By SAMUEL RAITANO
FORMER politician Alfred Kaiabe pointed out last week that the Vision 2050 has not taken population increase and internal boundary changes into account.
Speaking during the Hela Transitional Authority seminar in Port Moresby, Kaiabe stressed that in the next 40 years; the population of the country would increase, resulting in needs for changes to provincial land boundaries to enhance service delivery.
He said the Vision 2050 did not have a strategy in place for service delivery mechanisms to cater for the definite increase in population and the cascading effect it would have on provincial land boundaries.
When population increases within the Vision 2050 timeframe, it was certain that land boundaries would be needed to be allotted into manageable portions.
Programme manager for Vision 2050 office Joseph Sukwianomb responded that the Vision 2050 was a “dream” and not a protocol for service delivery and development.
Sukwianomb said the vision was there to give direction to the way service was delivered and benefited the citizens of the country, and proper analysis and action on other arising concerned areas remained with the leaders of tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a Hela leader, Andreas Hara Wabiria stressed that as long as gas for LNG project was still under their feet, they wanted a new agreement between the Hela provincial government, developer ExxonMobil and the state.
Wabiria said the approval of Hela province came after the LBBSA was signed beforehand, to which Southern Highlands  alone was a party.
He stressed that the government should not entwine Vision 2050with the LNG as the gas was still under Hela feet.