Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Businesses push for new aid approach in PNG

Posted at 01:57 on 29 May, 2009 UTC

Major business corporations are combining their talents in a new approach to aid.

Businesses such as Nestle, Goodman Fielder, and others want to drive communities in countries such as Papua New Guinea to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by helping them into business.

The CEO of Business for Millennium Development, Mark Ingram, says they want to start by giving landowners in PNG’s Southern Highlands guidance in how they can benefit from the influx of workers expected with the multi billion dollar liquified natural gas project.

He says supplies for these workers will need to be flown in, but his organisation is looking to form a co-operative of local growers to provide the food needed.

“Which could be sweet potato, banana, pawpaw etc, aggregating the supply after we have got their capabilities such that we can aggregate, and then supplying first of all the work camps for Oil Search. Oil Search and the LNG operations will have about seven to eight thousand workers over the next 12 to 18 months.”

Mark Ingram of Business for Millennium Development