Founding father cautions Sepiks of economic situation

The founding father of the nation and East Sepik Governor Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare has cautioned Sepiks to be mindful of the economic situation in the country and take heed of the warnings from experts.

Sir Michael said the situation will inevitably impact on them in the course of the year.

In an email to Loop PNG, Sir Michael called on Sepiks of both provinces to be mindful that with the cash flow problems experienced at the national level, there will certainly be repercussions in not just in their two provinces but all provinces throughout the country this year.

“Our social sectors, health and education, will definitely be affected.

“Unfortunately provincial governments are reliant on funds that come from the National Government and for most non-mining provinces like ours, our ability to generate revenue is very limited. For this reason provincial governments will have to look at raising revenue by focusing on foreign and other direct investments.

“Last year was a relatively slow year for East Sepik due to the problems that we faced with the head of our administration but fortunately that was finally addressed and I welcome Elizabeth Kaprangi as our permanent administrator.

“For 2016, Provincial Government will support further agriculture development in the province. I have initiated work to register integrated landowner groups (ILGs) and will encourage provincial government to further that process to its completion. 

“Sepiks historically are known to be hard working and our families’ livelihoods both in the past and today heavily depend on agriculture and honest hard work. 

“Provincial governments will have to make sure that we monitor investments in the province to ensure that we are getting the benefits owed to us. Equally we have to look at logging projects that are happening in our two provinces.

Author: 
Freddy Mou