PNG Economic Red Flags as Idihu Calls for Responsible Leadership

PNG Economic Red Flags as Idihu Calls for Responsible Leadership

​Hiri-Koiari MP Hon. Keith Idihu has voiced strong concerns over the country’s economic direction as Parliament prepares for the 2026 Budget debate, warning that poor fiscal management and excessive borrowing are placing an increasing burden on ordinary Papua New Guineans.

Idihu said the Opposition’s key worries remain the same—unsustainable debt levels, unrealistic revenue projections, and weak fiscal discipline, all of which continue to undermine the government’s ability to deliver essential services.

He likened fiscal management to PNG’s financial “navigation system,” involving how government raises revenue, allocates funds, monitors expenditure, and makes long-term financial decisions to keep the country stable. However, he said the system is failing.

Mid-year economic forecasts released in June 2025 showed significant revenue shortfalls, including an unexpected decline in tax collection—an early sign, Idihu noted, that the country is on a worrying economic trajectory.

Under Prime Minister James Marape, national debt has now climbed to almost K65 billion, which Idihu described as borrowing “with little to show for in national development.” He said the Opposition fears the Government is borrowing for consumption rather than productive investment, leaving future generations to shoulder the burden through higher taxes and inflation.

Yesterday, Ialibu-Pangia MP Peter O’Neill issued a separate statement accusing the Government of taking on another K1 billion in loans, only weeks after withdrawing over K1 billion in dividends from Kumul Minerals. O’Neill said the latest loans include K400 million from the Asian Development Bank for general budget support.

“That’s K2 billion raised in just a couple of weeks, yet our hospitals have no medicines and people are battling a severe cost-of-living crisis,” O’Neill said.

Idihu also highlighted Prime Minister Marape’s comments to medical workers last week, in which Marape admitted a cash shortage and told doctors and nurses to “do more with less.” Marape said he could not release funds for essential medicines and urged health workers to “stop complaining” and show patriotism by focusing on patient outcomes.

Idihu said these remarks reveal a government that has failed to prioritise the welfare of its people.

“Government derives its legitimacy from the people, on the understanding that it will protect their rights and welfare. When it cannot provide basic medicines or ensure safe, functioning services, it is failing in its most fundamental duty,” he said.

He warned that declining social indicators—from poor health services and falling education standards to worsening law and order and rising living costs—are crippling families and undermining national development.

According to Idihu, the 2025 Budget “did not offer meaningful relief for struggling families or businesses and failed to create opportunities for investment and jobs.”

He said Papua New Guinea now needs a competent and compassionate government—one that cuts unnecessary expenditure, reduces borrowing, attracts real investment, restores law and order, and puts people first.

“Papua New Guineans deserve better,” Idihu said.

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