A former Papua New Guinea prime minister says the country's severe cash flow problems are getting worse by the day.
Sir Mekere Morauta Photo: Post Courier
Sir Mekere Morauta, who is the MP for Northwest Moresby, said in the last fortnight the government has had to scramble to find the funds for public servants' wages.
According to him, PNG's foreign exchange crisis has not abated.
He said more than 70 percent of company executives in a recent business survey cited the lack of foreign exchange as the major constraint on business.
Sir Mekere said businesses were continuing to lay off staff, while many smaller enterprises were facing bankruptcy.
He said one of the problems was the businesses were owed tens of millions of kina by the government.
Sir Mekere said, as an example, last week a helicopter company flying relief missions in the earthquake zone reported it had been refused fuel because the government had not paid its bills.
And he said the prime minister's plan to borrow from China will make matters worse.
He said this will add to the already unsustainable debt burden and lead to even more spending cuts in critical areas.