The Director of Caritas Papua New Guinea says the main problem hindering his country's progress is lack of good management.
Raymond Ton has just concluded a visit to New Zealand where he delivered an address, titled Paradise Lost, reflecting on PNG's thirty six years since gaining independence from Australia.
Mr Ton says that despite its economic growth, PNG continues a downward spiral in its overall development indicators.
He says that before independence, PNG was a veritable paradise.
"We really didn't complain about anything. We didn't need anything. We had everything. We had health services provided to us, education... everyone had access to all these services. We had a good road system everywhere too. Really, what has happened is that the population has grown so fast, and the services remained the same."
Raymond Ton says generations of political leaders have squandered the wealth from PNG's resources and failed to upgrade core infrastructure.
