Photo credit: PM James Marape News Page - National Planning and Monitoring Minister Hon. Rainbo Paita in traditional dress during Budget debate.
The K22 billion 2022 Budget, which was passed without opposition by Parliament recently, has been dubbed a "milestone budget" by James Marape.
“This is a milestone budget because it is the first budget-proper for the nation to enter into the K20-billion budget realm,” PM Marape said.
“No past government has entered into this space.
“For the first time, in tough times, we are entering into the threshold of a K100 billion economy as focused by the Treasurer (Ian Ling-Stuckey).”
PM Marape stated in his inaugural address to Parliament as Prime Minister in 2019 that PNG will become the "richest black Christian nation" and that the country's GDP would grow to K200 billion in ten years.
He went on to say that he was delighted to see in Treasurer Ling-presentation Stuckey's that the 2022 Fiscal Year goals will be implemented throughout the year, “we will have a glimpse of surplus budgets starting in 2027, and a Papua New Guinea with no sovereign debt by 2034, if we choose to travel the road we are seeing today – the Pangu Rot (Road)”.
“This is a momentous and key national milestone as we are reaching a K200 billion economy in 2031, by the way we are focused,” PM Marape said.
“Our Budget is focused not on just 2022, but within the 13-year window that the Treasurer has opened for us to glimpse into the future.”
Ian Ling-Stuckey's proposal, he claimed, would transform PNG from a "very costly, debt-ridden economy to a surplus debt-free one."
“The reconstruction started three years ago, despite the once-in-a-hundred years pandemic, depite political instability in our country, despite the weak broken-down systems,” PM Marape said.
“Our economy, despite systematic complacency and corruption over many years, is now seeing signs of better times ahead.”
Reference: PM James Marape News Page (30 November 2021). “PM Marape hails 2022 Budget as ‘milestone budget’
