OPPOSITION Leader and Member for Kandrian Gloucester, Joseph Lelang is calling on the government to fix foreign exchange shortage in the country.
He said the foreign exchange shortage seems to be the underlying issue that is causing nationwide fuel crisis.
Lelang said the issue with Puma’s inability to secure foreign exchange to import fuel underscores a much bigger problem.
“It is not a fuel crisis; it is foreign exchange shortage. If there is rationing of fuel by Puma in the country, this is induced by shortages in the country’s foreign reserves. We have been talking about this in the last 10 years but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.
Mr Lelang who has a Masters in economics from Glasgow University and before entering Parliament, led Finance and Planning departments in various senior capacities including as Secretary also stated that the Government must take the blame on bad government policy decisions now causing foreign exchange issues the country is facing.
He said this issue has been dragging on for far too long and despite seeing the handing down of seven national budgets, this fundamental issue has not been resolved.
The Opposition Leader further added that everything is stagnant while the population is increasing daily as is the demand for food, fuel and other basic services.
“Related problems such as traffic congestions, unreliable water and power supplies in towns and cities and delayed and cancelled air transportation will no doubt significantly worsen in the next few years,” Mr Lelang said.
He said the PMV buses are charging K2 per trip and this is not going to come down, there are long queues of people looking for jobs and those lines will grow.
“Shelves of many shops are empty and the prices of the few goods on the shelves are ridiculously high. The shelves will not be filled and the prices will not come down without urgent government intervention,” the Opposition Leader expressed.
Lelang also warned that at times like now unscrupulous people and businesses will take advantage by hoarding fuel and re-selling them at inflated prices.
“People must not buy from such sources as fuel can be tampered with and can be dangerous. Always report such instances to appropriate authorities,” Lelang warned.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader has called on Papua New Guineans to stay calm and stop all non-essential travelling to reduce demand on available fuel although Deputy prime Minister John Rosso says the problem is fixed.
