"PNG can become the China of the Pacific", the Minister for Planning and Monitoring and District Development, Paul Tiensten said recently at a dinner in Kokopo.
Yet exactly what was the Minister referring to?
"Past PNG governments had only looked at their survival," the Minister is quoted as saying.
He then made the point that PNG as a country must align itself with both the short and long term government strategies; "and that
this may well result in PNG becoming the China of the Pacific."
With a booming economy and aspirations of becoming the leading world power, China is an easy example to laud when so called developing countries wish to align and emulate their own development strategies.
But exactly what would it mean if PNG did adopt Chinese methods and strategies?
If one were to look beneath the rhetoric and hyperbole, might not this concept create some problems for Mr Tiensten's own government?
What methodologies for example, does the Chinese government use to curb
corruption?
Is Chinese culture readily able to be assimilated by the PNG people?
Do PNG people want to emulate the Chinese way of doing things?
Those with some experience of PNG culture and customs might well point out that a similar notion used to be bandied around some decades ago about PNG adopting western culture and ethics.
How successful was that concept in creating a society and government that eradicated corruption and enabled PNG to use its resources to build up a modern nation and allow its people to prosper?
It seems that the idea of 'further fields always being greener' hasn't changed in four decades.
Why not start looking at the mirror and working out what is going wrong at home rather than chasing the illusion of a rainbow
elsewhere?
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Post Courier on line News
Wednesday 24th November, 2010
'PNG is China of Pacific'
By MAUREEN SANTANA
PAPUA New Guinea can become the China of the Pacific, a minister said during the closing dinner of the MTDP and PNGDSP rollout in Kokopo recently.
Minister for Planning and Monitoring and District Development Paul Tiensten said: "The important thing as a country we must align with the government's plans."
The Minister said the two government initiatives have looked at all the perimeters and have planned accordingly and this may result in PNG becoming the China of the Pacific.
Mr Tiensten however said PNG must plan appropriately and it must be together with government's short and long term strategies.
He said it was important to look at the missing links and one area was the implementation framework.
He said the government commitment was there but it was up to each province to build the capacity within their districts and to implement the funds coming from the national government.
The minister said past governments had only looked at their political survival.
Mr Tiensten said however for the current Somare-Polye government the current plans were aligned to meet vision 2050 and the government was putting funds to encourage economic and development growth.
Mr Tiensten said there were talks among developers and other multi-national organisations that PNG was becoming the China of the Pacific.
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