Planning Act to be tabled in May session

Caption:  Planning Minister Charles Abel

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 5, 2015 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

PLANNING Minister Charles Abel indicated that the Planning Act will presented in parliament in the May session.

He made the comments during the presentation of funds to the University of Papua New Guinea for its newly established Sustainable Development Degree Program- saying that the Act would bring forth and elevate many of the principles and consequent policies passed recently from the planning department.

“It will catalyze some of the subsequent and cascading policies like the Population and the Wash policy that we have launched this year,” Minister Abel said.

“It is to elevate strategic assets and those are our natural endowments including our mineral and petroleum wealth, and that is why the cascading policy from that is the Sovereign Wealth Fund for example.”

“The planning act will make sure these principles and plans are linked to the budgetary process- they are not just documents and airy fairy statements like how we have been treating our constitution to a large degree.”

He said the Planning Act would endure the next Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) thorugh the Planning Department will have the mandate to basically shape the budget every year, making sure that the various government programs mentioned continue to be funded.

“It so that we are not only talking about it, but are acting on them - not only means acting collectively as a nation but also means acting individually through lives based on principles that is at the heart and soul of this whole process.”

“Development must be assumed individually, we must have it in our hearts and activate it by how we behave- surely isn’t that they way we should do it.”

“A better PNG is built on individuals and families. What we are saying is that we can’t have two cars, two house, and four wives, it is just not sustainable.”

Abel added that happiness is not about more resources but to be useful with what is available at hand.

“Our culture tells us that happiness is about useful living- it’s about community values, knowing that you are contributing to a better world in the future.”