Will the people benefit from LNG?

I WONDER how many people will benefit from the LNG project.
Will the little people reap the full benefit or will it be hijacked by bureaucrats and politicians?
Only time will tell.
The oil and gas phenomenon in the world today is a highly technical and specialised issue which, unfortunately, is not available or accessible to the ordinary Papua New Guineans.
On the few occasions that I have looked at the reports issued by government on the movement of incomes in the oil sector, they are written in such technical language that the more you look, the less you see; the closer you read, the less you understand.
Since crude oil is deposited underground, how do we know how much is taken out and how much is left?
As a result, we have to rely heavily on the experts, most of whom are our partners in business.
This is probably why the oil sector is liable to manipulation.
The most important wealth of any nation is its people.
In our case, we are blessed with six million people and we have shown that we are resourceful, highly motivated and just as brilliant.
This is our greatest wealth.
Our nation will never be truly great until the people are well trained and motivated to perform at optimum.
In a nation where many young unemployed graduates roam the streets for years or are selling phone cards and newspapers, there is something seriously wrong.
In many countries, unemployment is a major cause of concern. Unfortunately, this is not the case in PNG.
Worse still, many of our leaders steal from our people and buy properties abroad . They pretend to preach about transparency and accountability to cover their wrong deeds.
I believe PNG needs a complete change of attitude and pray that our leaders will understand this.
Some of the countries, which are in the frontline of world economy, have little or no natural resources like Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
But they have highly educated people who are productive. The result is a wealthy and affluent nation.
Do we have the capacity to become a highly technical and specialised state? Or are we going to end up like some African countries?

James Julius Yore
Auckland