Prime Minister’s Back to Business Breakfast
The 8th Prime Ministers back to business breakfast was held yesterday in Port Moresby. The Papua New Guinean Prime Minister and members of his cabinet hold the event annually to discuss projects, provide insights and communicate with business executives on the outlook for 2020.
I attended the Prime Minister’s breakfast once again this year, to gain some insights on current timelines, upcoming projects and the direction in which the government is heading for 2020.
Attending events of this calibre, you are always extremely optimistic about obtaining clarity on matters that have become long-standing topics of discussion, and are eager to absorb as much information as possible on the future of the country.
Jonathan Bundu (Credit Corp) left, Pansy Taueni-Sialis (OSL) middle, Stephen Mead (Peopleconnexion) right
The Business community that operate within the sectors that are being held up are desperate to hear word on the projects in PNG. The P?Nyang gas agreement is an enormous prosperous project for Papua New Guinea, it will provide immense resourcing opportunities and will allow for PNG to fulfill the projected supply gap for 2024.
Negotiations and conversations are still on foot, the government is standing firm on receiving a fair deal, which is supported by resourcing and revenue laws. The reason for frustration across a number of groups is that the deadline for discussions is only known by the two parties, this has in turn affected outside parties that will be involved throughout the projects.
The Prime Minister made it clear that Papua New Guinea must not be reliant and dependent on just one provider, and needs to drive its economic diversification plans moving forward. The government will only be progressing on the projects that have been held up due to negotiations if the right deal is agreed upon.
The deal must benefit the country, its people and the land.
Moving forward the Papua New Guinea government will be subsidising new avenues, to create added interest and commitment to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and all important is education. The goal is to educate the up and coming generation to have the right people in position, to drive the economic diversification that the country seeks. Strong message was to unlock the land for the PNG people to use for economic gain.
The agriculture sector provides numerous opportunities in the country. The government will be offering SME packages to help support and encourage the mindset towards the contribution of labour, and educate ways in which the country can take advantage of its land and its resources.