BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

The bottom line of any government implementing policies is to create jobs.

Leader of the Independent Group Peter Kenilorea Jnr said this when contributing to the Sine-motion in parliament last year.

“The bottom line should be that all that we do needs to have a benchmark for employment,’’ he said.

“How many people are going to get employment if we give this investment opportunity and the incentives that they need?’’ said the MP.

He said that many youths have been left without jobs.

“What’s the future for them? How can their lives be more meaningful?  How can they contribute? How can they feel more valuable when they have income through jobs,’’ concludes Kenilorea.

 He said that he thought the benchmark should still be employment and job creation.

“I would like to hear speeches from the government during finance and presenting a budget to talk about how the budget will provide 10,000 jobs, 15,000 jobs. These are the kinds of data, these are the kinds of indicators that get people excited,’’ he said last year.

He said that he hasn’t heard as much from the government ministers when they present the budget.

“We know that job creation is part of the private sector.  But the government has a role in enabling those jobs to be created through several policy interventions,’’ he said.

“I’ve been waiting to hear anything here about tax credits, I haven’t been hearing much about tax credits. All I’ve been hearing about is tax exemptions. We know there’s a difference, and quite a bit big of a difference, particularly for investors,’’ said Kenilorea.

He said that some prefer to be part of a regime that provides tax credits rather than tax exemptions, a tool available for the government of the day under the policy and the right policy mix.

“I’m sure GNUT and your political analysts, and political appointees are thinking about it because this is very important for us as a nation moving forward,’’ he said.

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