My focus: meeting the demands of the future
19 January 2021
JAMES MARAPE MP
| Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
PORT MORESBY – In the future the world will look for these five products: food (organic food from the land and fresh marine and river food); clean water; fresh air; new plant based medicines; and cleaner and cheaper energy.
These are everyday needs that everybody needs. And we have them all in total abundance here in Papua New Guinea.
Call me a stupid dreamer and talker again, but I write this for all you young Papua New Guineans.
These five resources the world will search to buy. This will include the three billion Asians close to us who are only few days away by ship and a few hours by plane. And the 270 million Muslims who eat only beef that we can supply by trucks to Indonesia.
My government will work on the energy space at the same time providing freight subsidy and price incentives while linking you all to markets.
And we are not just talking, we now have funds for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and freight plus good prices incentives for market.
I need all of you who are unengaged and unemployed to believe in this and go back to your land and work on it.
The nation of Israel is half the size of Angoram district, yet it exports over $800 million (K2.8 billion) in fruit and vegetables a year from a land that has no water and arable soil.
This is because they have people who work hard using agriculture entrepreneurship and technology.
My people, let’s be a nation of hard workers on the land and sea that God has already blessed us with instead of just waiting for the windfalls of oil, gas and gold.
In future, the world will leave behind oil and gas for cheaper, cleaner energy.
The world can live without gold and minerals but food, water, oxygen, medicine and cleaner energy-based products (hydro, solar, wind, geo-thermal) will be of high everyday demand.
That’s my focus now. Call me crazy, but a leader must see into the future and point the direction and the nation must rally behind it.
I may be wrong but talk to me 20 years from today (if I am not dead yet) and you will see these five items as key basic human needs in high demand.
Surely we all own land and sea (of our 462,840 square kilometers, only 3% is owned by the State), so we can’t be poor beggars unless you yourself are a lazy person.
I and your government are willing to assist all who want to get engaged in the food industry space for both the local market and export.
Maybe I am dreaming, because I am writing this at 1.30 am.
This is a refreshing approach and I would wish Mr Marape well with his plans.
Add a focus on education and health and he has a package unparalled in PNG political history.
Posted by: Philip Fitzpatrick | 19 January 2021 at 08:20 AM