Growth

TUC president, John Paska says Papua New Guineans face challenges of affordable, accessible housing, the collapse of essential services like education, and healthcare, rising unemployment rates and a stagnant private sector.

He further highlighted the rise in violent crimes and general law and order issues, especially against the vulnerable including women and children, stating that the moral fabric of society has collapsed.

The former minister of finance, Marape, became prime minister on May 30 following the resignation of his predecessor, Peter O’Neill.

This marked the end of O’Neill’s nearly eight years in office, and brought to a close a period of policy disputes and defections – including Marape’s own – within government ranks.

This was from the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in consultation with PNG on November 29, 2016.

“As a commodity exporter, the PNG economy has been hit hard by the drop in world commodity prices and a major drought. The authorities have responded to these shocks through fiscal tightening and a combination of modest exchange rate depreciation and FX sales,” the board said in a statement.

“Strong economic growth driven by the start of the PNG LNG project, has tailed off amidst weak non-resource sector growth.

The 4th Regional Marketing Meeting discussed a number of initiatives targeting tourism growth including the annual tourism marketing event South Pacific Tourism Exchange (SPTE); a new brand to market the region globally; and a regional marketing plan for endorsement by the meeting.

The annual meeting of marketing executives has been organised by the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), the region’s peak tourism development and marketing body, since 2013 when it was first held in Samoa.

This was what the President of the Republic of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, said during his visit to the University of Papua New Guinea today.

He also paid his respect to the statue of Mahatma Ghandi that was installed by the Late Sir Bill Skate in 1997.

President Mukherjee addressed more than 290 people in the UPNG main lecture theatre saying Mahatma Ghandi is the father of the Nation of India and to this day, is known all over the world as a beacon of peace.