Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch has labelled the Opposition and other critics of government as ‘doomsayers’.
Pruaitch said they had been accusing the government of mismanaging the economy of the country without even getting it right.
He defended the government and said the O’Neill/Dion government had ensured that the management of the macro economy remained in good and capable hands.
He said the nation’s revenue, banks and spinoffs had been under some pressure since 2011 when oil and copper started experiencing a sharp fall in the prices.
Pruaitch added that the government made a firm policy decision and continued to implement budget deficits to support the top key areas of free education, free healthcare, infrastructure and the provincial and local level government grants.
He said PNG’s economic growth remained robust at 9.9 per cent in 2015.
“The policies of the O’ Neill-Dion Government will continue to address PNG’s development agenda, as well as insulate PNG from declining government revenues.”
He said the government had maintained the integrity of the 2015 budget but by reducing expenditures by K1.4 billion and raising an additional K1.1 billion in revenue from government entities as a result, the actual deficit would be in line with the original budget estimates.
However, Opposition Leader Don Polye has again described 2016 Budget as a ‘hoax, paper budget and properly-planned deception’.
He said there was nothing for the people to benefit from in the Budget as their income per capita, their development index and other socio-economic development measures were deteriorating.
Polye said the 2015 Budget failed to be fully implemented as there were instances of budgetary slashes, particularly in the health and education sector.
Despite all the criticisms the government passed a K14.2 billion budget for 2016.