Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, Charles Abel, has taken aim at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank for what he says is the lack of constructive advice in dealing with Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Exchange problems.
Responding to a series of questions from the Opposition in parliament on Tuesday, July 24, he said that whilst there had been continued criticism towards the government’s handling of the country’s foreign exchange levels, the approach taken by IMF and the World Bank left a lot to be desired.
During Question time yesterday, Kavieng MP and Shadow Treasurer, Ian Ling-Stuckey asked a series of questions focusing on the state of the economy.
His questions included seeking clarification on the country’s current exchange rate value and the value of the country’s total debt, both in-country and internationally.
Mr Ling Stuckey also sought clarification from the Treasurer as to why the National Government was leaning towards what he termed ‘dangerous deals’ with China.
In response, the Treasurer acknowledged that the government had in recent times looked to China.
The Treasurer also took aim at the IMF and World Bank, claiming the advice from these institutions were not addressing the underlying issues to the country’s economic problems.
The Member for Namatanai, raised a point-of-order, calling for the Treasurer to provide details on the country’s debt levels.
In responding to the Member for Namatanai, the Treasurer assured Parliament that he would table the Mid-Year-Economic-Fiscal-Outlook in Parliament this week in an effort to provide insight into the true state of the economy.
