Not the first time we’ve faced hard times: Vele

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, November 6, 2016 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

TREASURY Secretary reflected on the road leading up to the current financial shortfalls facing the country on the onset of his K12.96 billion 2017 Budget Press Lockup address- telling those in attendance that the country was not new to the tough times faced by the economy in the country’s 41 year history.

Mr Vele confessed that it was not getting easier to formulate the budget, however, emphasized the prudent management of the government had maintained positive growth for the 15th year in a row.

“This is the fourth budget that I have done, not to say that it is getting any easier. We have a lot to be proud of especially how we’ve managed ourselves through the recent difficult times,” Secretary Vele said.

“But sometimes we have short memories, people forget and do not know that we’ve faced tough times before, late 80s and the early 90s, and again in the late 90s and the early 2000s, and we got through.”

“And this time we know that we are in a much better position to handle these external shocks fills me with great confidence.”

He said the large budget surpluses generated from those positive years were evident through liabilities that were now haunting the government like the public service machinery.

“We had very good years from about 2004 to 2012, good time, large budget surpluses- we deposited close to K10 billion, which is 91% of next year’s revenue into trust accounts.”

“We had a public service that went from 80,000 employees to 136,000 employees, and we now have 125 government departments and agencies, even before we account for the 22 province.”

“This simply can’t continue. It’s simply unsustainable. We have had unprecedented levels of growth- sometimes leading the world.”

Vele added that the global economic spectrum over the last four years had led to much uncertainty.

“The world has had to deal with fragile economies in Europe, the volatile war in the Middle East, collapsing commodity prices, and we have all seen the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon.”

“I choose to see the last four years as a blessing in disguise, an opportunity for us to refocus our mindset, so we can optimize the opportunities that come in the future and we mitigate those same risks.”