Don Polye warns fellow citizens not to be deceived - Know the truth to elect better leaders

Citizens should know the truth about the country’s state of the economy and other affairs to make an informed decision in choosing their leaders in this election.

These are the words of the Opposition Leader Don Polye.

Speaking to thousands gathered today (Friday 31/03/17) at the National park in Goroka, Eastern Highlands province, Mr Polye warned them that believing in carefully-orchestrated deception and lies was destructive for the country’s advancement.

He likened PNG’s state of the affairs to a broken-down car or someone under the intensive care unit. “If we cannot do anything to save the patient, he or she will be sent to the morgue. It is time for us to know the truth to make an informed decision to elect better leaders to save our sinking economy,” he said.

He also warned that a drunken driver, who was responsible for the car’s breakdown, should not be engaged to fix it. Polye said he or she did not know how to fix it, adding similarly the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill is that driver. 

He said his statement was substantiated by international reports, citing International Monetary Fund’s Article IV Report and similar others. Polye said the country’s budget was over K12 billion. “About K7 billion of the budget caters for the recurrent expenditure (i.e. public service salary, rentals…etc.).

“The balance (K5 billion) is for the country’s development,” he said. However, he said, this is not the case now as development budget was used to repay the country’s loans.

Polye said the country’s debt was over K30 billion, adding that the debt to GDP ratio was well over the legal limit as prescribed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act. He urged the audience in Goroka to educate themselves with facts he was presenting, saying they are nothing but the truth. 

“If the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and his ministers think that I am misleading you (people) now, I ask them to take me to court. “I will produce evidences as prove to defend myself,” he told a cheering crowd. He further warned them to be wary of continuous deception orchestrated by the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and his government. Polye said the signs and symptoms of the country’s economy were written on the wall.

He pointed that delay in disbursement of TFF funds, public service salary, shortage of drugs, and cuts to electricity supplies in Government House and Parliament House, amongst others, were only signs of PNG’s cash-stripped economy. 

The Opposition Leader said the businesses were feeling the pinch of the government-induced economic crisis amidst rationing of foreign exchange orders. This, he said, has affected their income.

Little Kevina shaking hands with Opposition Leader Don Polye. Image Credit: Media Unit - PNG Opposition / 2017.