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Photo: https://pmjamesmarape.com/
The Government of Papua New Guinea will present its 2023 National Budget next week, and there is an expectation of increased commitments in critical areas.
In the wake of a wildly violent and lawless election in July, there have been calls from organizations such as Transparency International for substantial investment in the Electoral Commission and the police.
RNZ Pacific’s PNG correspondent Scott Waide said voters were expecting reforms at the Electoral Commission.
“The problems are wide, such as the ability of the Electoral Commission to carry out the elections, as well as law and order in different provinces. We have seen the deterioration of this in the elections.
“The other thing that Papua New Guineans will be looking for relief is in terms of high cost of goods, food and fuel.”
Waide said the rising cost of living is driven in part by factors outside the country.
“And many of these problems are not directly within the control of the PNG economy, they are influenced by external factors.
“The PNG economy took a hit during Covid and then it was made worse by the Russia-Ukraine war, so the PNG economy is reeling from all these effects, including inefficiencies in the government system itself.”
Earlier this month, Prime Minister James Marape announced that this new budget would be a “no surprise” budget.
He said the government will maintain the approach it has taken since coming to power three years ago.
Waide said it would not be easy for the government to find the money to deal with all the various monetary issues that need to be addressed. Among the sources for extra income is energy.
“In the last two or three years, the government has tried as much as possible to reopen old mines and open new ones, as the Wafi Golpu project has been at the top of the priority list and the reopening of Porgera” .
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