Recent revelations suggest a promising upturn in living standards for Papua New Guinea (PNG) residents after enduring a forty-year decline. Ian Ling-Stuckey, the Minister assisting the Prime Minister on treasury matters, shared this optimistic forecast following his participation in an economic seminar held in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, on Tuesday. The seminar, attended by ministers, department heads, and World Bank officials, shed light on strategies to bolster PNG's economic growth and job creation prospects. Ling-Stuckey underscored the gravity of PNG's living standards decline, citing a substantial drop from an estimated average income of K11,385 per person in 1980 to K6,819 in 2000. Furthermore, from 2012 to 2019, living standards continued to regress, plummeting from K7,522 to K6,656 per person. This downward trend starkly contrasted with global advancements, signaling a pressing need for economic revitalization. Central to assessing living standards is the metric of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, revealing a nation's economic output relative to its population size. Ling-Stuckey emphasized the significance of per capita income as an indicator of individual prosperity, noting a notable improvement with an average income projection of K7,046 per person for the current year. The seminar served as a platform to address critical questions and imperatives for PNG's economic resurgence. Discussions encompassed strategies for doubling the nation's economy, prioritizing education, maximizing the potential of the agriculture sector, enhancing power supply reliability, and optimizing financing avenues from domestic, external, and private sectors. Crucially, Ling-Stuckey stressed the imperative of inclusive economic growth policies, asserting that benefits must extend beyond urban centers like Port Moresby or Lae to uplift all regions of the country. He highlighted the urgent need for PNG to learn from past experiences and draw insights from successful economic models in the region to chart a prosperous future for its citizens. As PNG endeavors to reverse decades of economic stagnation, Ling-Stuckey's remarks underscore a concerted effort to harness its potential, laying the groundwork for sustained growth and enhanced living standards across the nation. Also check out Comments are closed.
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