PNG LNG Riches May Not Help Papua New Guinea

Norimitsu Onishi's article in The New York Times Online, "Riches May Not Help Papua New Guinea (October 25, 2010), Although project-developer, ExxonMobil has stated that it "seeks to create long-term economic and social benefits from its projects and prescence" and "help local businesses to develop proper governance systems" - in reality, that long-term goal is a far-fetched one. Although some of the money has seeved down into the wallets of ordinary Papua New Guineans, some think that Papua New Guineans are not ready to for that kind of money. I agree. With sentiments brewing about how this project has the potential to largely boost Papua New Guinea's economy by up to 80% and create thousands of jobs that will benefit Papua New Guineans and the local economy, under the country's current political and social structure, it seems unreasonable to agree that these estimates will in turn create an opportunity for the government to address current oustanding corruption and transparency issues, increase and improve the service and delivery of basic services to the majority of its population. Yes, projects such as the LNG PNG gas project have the opportunity to transform the and improve PNG's economy, however, economical benefits need to be balanced with measures that aim to also address oustanding social and development issues. Papua New Guinea will only benefit in the long-term if ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL issues are addressed in order for the overall welfare of the country to improve.