PEOPLE’S Party plans to put over K 2 billion from the national government’s annual budget direct into the pockets of ordinary citizens of Papua New Guinea given when its leads the new government after the 2012 National Elections.
Every individual over the age of eighteen and are not engaged in a formal fortnightly pay employment and defend heavily from subsistence life would earn an income of K30 to K40 every two weeks.
The beneficiaries are to live in the rural villages – not urban migrants and provide one day community service work per week is entitled to get the monies.
These would be implement by respective Ward Councillors throughout the country that would also keep proper records of person (s) living in villages at the same time update the village record books weekly when individuals attend the community work.
The party during their National Convention in Wabag, Enga Province in April 2012 resolved to adopt the policy to be known as ‘Village Service Intensive Scheme Program’ to benefit the 80 percent of the total county’s population the real heavily on rural subsistence livelihood.
The country’s population stands at 7.5 million people where only ten (10) percent are engaged in formal employment to earn a fortnightly wages while 90 unemployed of which 80 percent live on subsistence way.
Leader of People’s Party Peter Ipatas who sponsored the new policy said spending K 2 billion annually to give something back to the ordinary people would not affect the annual budget of the National Government.
He said Papua New Guinea has a lot of monies coming from the resource sectors and the agriculture sector and the people must stand to benefit from them directly.
Mr Ipatas said instead of putting monies from the resource boom into Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), trust accounts and other savings both local and foreign, it must be share among the people. “It is to put some real hope into the ordinary citizens of this country and for some that do not afford any kina within a fortnight,” said Mr. Ipatas.
He said the scheme would really improve lives of the majority of people that do not have access to a formal income in two week to purchase essential basics and pay for health care and other needs. “The scheme is not to give monies away freely to the people but a form of appreciation from the government for the community service work they put in two days per fortnight,” said Ipatas.
He for so long the rural population have contributed significantly towards the development of Papua New Guinea without any direct benefit apart basic public health, education, roads and other socioeconomic services.
Mr Ipatas said the scheme would make people active partners in reorganizing and improving their own communities and infrastructure like aid posts, schools, roads, churches, markets, agriculture and other public utilizes to benefit themselves.
He said it would decrease the law and order problems at the villages to install peace and order and at also ease urban drift where youths migrate for green pastures. The scheme would reduce booming squatter settlements in towns and cities and return people who are doing nothing and causing problems in settlements.
