By postcourieronline,Prime Minister Somare

Copyright postcourier

Prime Minister James Marape has reaffirmed that growing Papua New Guinea’s economy has been his central focus since first assuming office on 30 May 2019 and remains the cornerstone of his vision for the country’s long-term prosperity and independence.

“From my first speech as Prime Minister in 2019, I made it clear that the focus of my leadership would be to grow the economy so that we have more resources to sustain our people,” Prime Minister Marape said.

“I spoke about our journey toward becoming the richest black Christian nation, which is in line with the ambitions first laid out by Prime Minister Somare for a happy, wealthy, wise, and top 50 nation by 2050. I chose a more aggressive approach to ensure every ministry, department, and public servant prioritises economic growth.”

The Prime Minister said the rationale was simple: a bigger economy provides the resources to fund education, healthcare, infrastructure, welfare, and national development.

“When I took office, the economy stood at K79 billion. Today, six years on, we are at K130 billion — a growth of over K50 billion. This has happened despite many challenges,” he noted.

“Our growth rate is now consistently above 4% — higher than many other economies. Independent observers such as the IMF, World Bank, and ADB have all forecast PNG’s growth at over 4% this year.”

Prime Minister Marape emphasised that economic growth is the pathway to economic independence — a mission inspired by the late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare’s words in 2007, when he told a younger Marape and his colleagues that their generation of educated leaders must work towards economic sovereignty, just as his generation delivered political independence in 1975. “Somare’s generation gave us political independence,”

Prime Minister Marape said. “It is now our generation’s duty to deliver economic independence.”

Looking ahead, Prime Minister Marape reaffirmed his ambitious growth targets:

• K200 billion economy by 2030

• K300 billion economy by 2035

• K500 billion economy by 2045

“No previous Prime Minister has spoken about growing the economy to this scale,” he said.

“But it must be done, because a larger economy is the only way to sustain our fast-growing population.”

The Prime Minister outlined that growth will come from across all sectors — forestry, fisheries, agriculture, mining, petroleum, and, critically, through local content, SMEs, and wider participation of Papua New Guineans in business.

He said major projects such as Wafi-Golpu, Papua LNG, P’nyang, Pasca, Frieda, and others will underpin future expansion, alongside continued emphasis on agriculture and downstream processing.

“I am not a trained economist or accountant, but I have the heart of a lion when it comes to fighting for Papua New Guinea’s resources and ensuring our people benefit,” Prime Minister Marape said.

“From the time I first contested elections in 2002, my purpose has been to secure our resources for our people, and as Prime Minister today, I remain true to that mission. Together, we must all work to grow this economy bigger, better, and faster — so it can sustain our population and deliver on the dreams of our founding fathers.”