By Delly Waigeno – EM TV News, Port Moresby
All provincial and district administrators have been urged to submit their acquittal reports, otherwise there will be no money for service improvement programs.
Jackson Why, from the Department of Implementation and Rural Development, made these remarks when receiving the 2015 DSIP and DSG acquittal reports for Rai Coast District, Madang Province, yesterday in Port Moresby.
He said over K17 million in district and provincial support funds are parked at the Department of Implementation and Rural Development because of non-acquittals.
Deputy Secretary of the Program Implementation Wing of DIRD, Jackson Why, said no acquittals, no money for services improvement programs.
The PSG & DSG with a total value of K500,000 a piece are the constitutional grants designated to all members of Parliament that consists of two component, the discretionary and the non-discretionary for each MPs.
In the 2013 fiscal year an initial appropriation of K55.5 million was appropriated of which only K27.75 million was allocated. Of the K27.75 million, K19.75 was paid out to the MPs, and the remaining balance of K8 million worth of cheques went stale because of non-acquittals.
In the 2014 fiscal year an initial appropriation of K55.5 million per districts and provinces were appropriated of which only K27.75 million was allocated. Of the K27.75 million, K18 million was paid out to the MPs, and the remaining balance of K9.75 million worth of cheques were stale because of non-acquittals.
In 2015 fiscal year an initial appropriation of K55.5 million was appropriated of which only K27.75 million was allocated. Of the K27.75 million, K17 million was paid out to the MPs whilst the remaining balance of K10.75 million worth of cheques are being retained pending acquittals before being paid out.
These include funds for Provincial Services Improvement Program or PSIP, DSIP, and LLGSIP, until and unless acquittal reports are furnished as required under the Public Finance Management Act.
He said over K17 million in Provincial and District Support Grants which accumulated from 2013-2014 were parked at the DIRD because no acquittal reports were presented to the Department.
These funds were forfeited back to the state through supplementary budget for last year (2015).
Mr Why said the removal of sector allocations for each funds, because of the different needs and priorities, had greatly affected DIRD’s monitoring capability.
As a result, the Department of Provincial and LLG’s minimums standard were not implemented.
