According to the latest numbers from Treasury, the economy is growing fast, including non-mineral sectors. PNG’s Treasury has revised its GDP growth forecast for 2011 from 8 per cent to a very strong 9.3 per cent. Non-mineral sectors are doing well (estimated to grow by 10.2 per cent), but this masks considerable variation. Construction is set to grow by 21 per cent and there is rapid growth of 16 per cent in the transport, storage and communication sectors. On the other hand, growth in agriculture is much more modest (at 4.1 per cent) and this should be something for the government to focus on, especially with respect to rural infrastructure, crop yields and making markets work more efficiently.

These recent growth numbers are part of a broader trend. The LNG project promises to double the size of the PNG economy: the project is an AU$15 billion investment. Treasury estimates it will generate AU$31 billion in revenue over the next few decades, thus creating an opportunity to significantly improve living standards in PNG. However, similar opportunities have been squandered in the past — Kutubu Oil in the 1990s and mineral windfalls in recent years are just two examples. Whether the current boom is a blessing or a curse depends on whether the right foundations are established now. Specifically, there are important opportunities to restore accountability, fix policies and put in place better legislation.

There is a significant opportunity for the O’Neill-Namah government to restore integrity, openness and accountability to PNG’s politics. This new government has returned some experienced and familiar faces to Cabinet: Sir Puka Temu as Minister for Agriculture, Bart Philemon as Minister for the Public Service and Sir Mekere Morauta as Minister for Public Enterprises. There are also some rising stars: Sam Basil as Minister for Planning and Jamie Maxton-Graham as Minister for Health.

Changes have been made in the civil service. There is a new Secretary for the Prime Minister and National Executive Council, and a new Secretary for Finance. An investigation has been announced into the Department of National Planning and the 125 million kina (US$56.5 million) Kokopo loan, with a task force that is starting to make arrests. A former Minister has fled to Australia. There have also been changes at the Independent Public Business Corporation with the appointment of a new board and managing director to get the house in order.

Addressing outstanding economic policy issues is another opportunity for the new government. First and foremost is the design of the Sovereign Wealth Fund to manage macroeconomic volatility, mitigate the impact of ‘Dutch Disease’ and invest in the nation’s future. The Fund will need to have secure governance arrangements and clear rules on the drawdown of funds. But there also needs to be concerted reforms to the budget to improve the quality of spending. Building capacity in the public sector is a tough task and can’t be done overnight, and PNG may need to think outside the public sector box to ensure that financial wealth is translated into real wealth.

The third opportunity is to complete some housekeeping on economic governance legislation. For example: the National Information and Communications Technology Act is about to be reviewed; the International Public Business Corporation Act will also need to be amended; an organic law will be needed for the Sovereign Wealth Fund; and the Public Finance Management Act could also be strengthened. Getting the bills ready for the November sitting of Parliament, and possibly another sitting before the elections, will be essential.

The O’Neill-Namah government has made an impressive start on reform. Yet it only has very limited time to rebuild the basic foundations of economic management, which will be needed as PNG continues to enjoy big resource revenues while facing pressing development needs. The next nine months will be an important and exciting opportunity to get the foundations right. If the O’Neill-Namah government can do this, then there is a real chance that the LNG boom could be a blessing rather than a curse.

Matthew Morris is Deputy Director of the Development Policy Centre at the Crawford School of Economics & Government, the Australian National University and an advisor to the Papua New Guinean government. 

This article was first posted here on Keith Jackson & Co: PNG ATTITUDE. A version of this post was also published here on the Development Policy blog.