Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has been called on to provide the services in par with the population growth to avoid any stress.
Opposition Leader Don Polye made the call and said the country’s 3.1 per cent population growth rate was too high when compared to developed economy like New Zealand, which has only 0.88 percent growth rate with a population of about 4.6 million.
“If the basic services provided by the government are not on par with the country’s population growth, PNG is sitting on a time bomb,” Polye warned.
He added the country’s Census in 2010 recorded about 7.3 million people.
He said the menace that faces our country is not population growth but is the lack of prudent economic management.
“The only way to cater for the population growth is to provide adequate services and to create jobs for our people to earn an honest living,” he said when commenting on the population boom.
The population, he said, needs to be engaged in the development process to sustain their livelihood.
Polye said he feared the risks of the integral human development when the people were being deprived of services, employment and skill development among others.
He said the government had to grow and diversify the economy so that its growth could fuel expansion in the services provided for the population.