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Category: Money and Monetary Policy / Regional Development / Management / APEC Economic Leaders Meeting (2007)

PNG Opposition Leader calls to cancel APEC

Tuesday, 25 Oct 2016 19:44:35 | Eric Tlozek

Papua New Guinea's Opposition Leader has said the country should cancel its hosting of the 2018 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit because it cannot afford it.

PNG has been preparing to host the summit for the last three years. It estimates it will cost $240 million.

The country's Opposition Leader Don Polye said it was wise to cancel hosting the event in light of the cash flow problem the country is experiencing.

"The Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and his government should swallow their pride and cancel hosting it," Mr Poyle said.

"Our economy is in a crisis. Hosting it will only worsen the current cash-flow stricken economy as its costs will not be at 600 million Kina as announced but will run into billions of Kina."

Mr Polye has called on the Prime Minister and his Minister for National Events to make a list of measurable benefits the country will reap from hosting the event.

"Our children, women and other citizens are dying due to lack of basic services like medicines in the health centres. Schools have been shut down due to lack of funds," Mr Poyle said.

The Pacific Games, he said, should have taught them a good lesson to avoid similar economic mismanagement, adding cost variations for the infrastructures then were exorbitant.

"Most of the infrastructures for the games are still incomplete. They do not produce any economic returns for the public purse from the funds spent on them," he said.

PNG has suffered major declines in economic growth and revenue over the last year and is preparing to further cut spending.

But the Government said hosting APEC would be good for the country's development and international reputation.

AustraliaPlus


 

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