World Vision wants PNG LNG proceeds used wisely

Updated September 7, 2010 18:06:32

The Papua New Guinea government has been warned it will be disastrous if it does not use proceeds from the multi-billion dollar Liquefied Natural Gas project to bring much needed social services to the people. The LNG project is expected to underpin PNG's economic growth by about 7 per cent once it goes into full production by early 2014.

Presenter: Firmin Nanol
Speaker: Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision Australia

NANOL: The Chief Executive Officer of World Vision Australia, Tim Costello sounded the warning during a recent visit to PNG. He says the government should help manage those resources carefully to ensure everyone gets a fair share of benefits from the project. Mr Costello says money from the LNG project should be used for education and to address health and law and order issues.

COSTELLO: World Vision sees Papua New Guinea right on the cusp of a great opportunity or a terrible disaster. This is with the tap of resources from LNG and the oil searches and Exxon's being turned on, a huge opportunity. But if the readiness of the people, the ownership and culture of the people is enabled to manage through its holding government accountable this money responsibly. To manage this money so that it actually gets to the rural areas into the poorest people. It will be a disaster. We know in Nigeria, in lots of other oil rich countries, the poor have got poorer despite the fantastic resources because of the bad management, the inability of politicians to actually make decisions for the whole national public good, but rather just to win votes to favour a particular group, It's a wonderful opportunity but it's a knife-edge which way will it go - wonderful future for PNG and increasing education enrolments and literacy and opportunity for health, or a disaster where it gets bedevilled in lack of transparent decisions where that money went, how it was used, who won, who lost, and whether there is a greater economic divide between rich and poor here, that's the knife edge right now that Papua New Guinea's on.

NANOL: World Vision Australia has also been helping the PNG government in delivering much needed health services to rural communities. CEO Tim Costello says one of the areas he's to help the PNG health system offer treatment and care for people with tuberculosis or TB. He says the government should fund and help communities own and manage the Directly Observed Treatment or DOTs program to eradicate TB.

COSTELLO: We certainly are also working in every province with our TB, Directly Observable Treatment DOTs program, that's expanding. We're working particularly around HIV, we are certainly expanding the programs with the government that want accountability, we have been supporting those.

NANOL: Tim Costello has also asked the PNG government to ensure it stops the ever increasing rural-urban drift by providing infrastructure, health and education services to keep people back in their communities. He says people who migrate to cities in search of services and urban settlements where there is trouble.

COSTELLO: When you come to the settlements here in Moresby or even Madang, Lae, it's not much of a life. You're more at risk of malaria, you're more exposed to TB. But stay in your rural areas rather than simply come to the city where there are settlements without electricity and water and people thrown together, tribal conflicts. Keeping people connected in rural areas to the land with a future, with education, with health to stop the drift to the city is pretty important.

COSTELLO: He says World Vision will be increasing its activities in Papua New Guinea and work closely with the government to help empower communities on the programs it supports so people can be self-reliant. Tim Costello says World Vision has spent close to 100-million dollars in PNG.