HUGE COST OF NEW LOAN AS O’NEILL CUTS PS PAY
MICHAEL J PASSINGAN Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s planned new $US500 million loan is gong to be one of the most expensive borrowings in PNG history. And it comes at a time when his mad economic policies are hurting public servants even more. National Department of Health doctors’ last pay and entitlements have been cut by about 50% More Public Servants are facing pay and entitlement cuts. O’Neill has even short-changed police. What next – Defence Force? The loan will help ease the foreign exchange shortage, but is only a stop-gap. In the long run it will make the nation’s economic and financial problems worse. O’Neill has destroyed the country’s economic reputation overseas and now unscrupulous lenders are moving in for the kill as they realize how desperate the Prime Minister and his kon men cronies are. The syndicated loan being sought from Credit Suisse (yes ANOTHER Swiss bank) is set at 7% interest rate on US dollars. The standard inter-bank interest rate (known as