Prime Minister James Marape during the end of the two day governors meeting in Port Moresby said the Pangu Pati-led Government which he leads has “faith and sees great value” in the provincial government system.
He commended the governors for coming together in a bipartisan approach, whether in Government or Opposition, to make decisions for the good of the people.
“We subscribe to decentralization – which is deeply entrenched in our Constitution. That is the reason why our nation remains united,” he said.
“In the midst of many challenges, 47 years on, we now have the Special Region of Bougainville under autonomy, we have many performing provinces who want to be functionally autonomous, and we also have some provinces which in terms of their internal revenue are weak.
“How do we balance this conversation so that the system and structures of government we set up do not become impediments, but assist in service delivery to the masses of our people? At the moment, as we speak, 80 per cent of our people remain in the provinces and districts,” Marape added.
Prime Minister said the Minister for Inter-Government Relations, Soroi Eoe, will take the recommendations of the Governors meeting to the Government for consideration.
“This is so that, together with the Governors, we can tailor to make a system that is complementary to National Government in as far as service delivery and ensuring our people are better served going forward,” he said.
“This all leads on to our nation celebrating 50 years of independence. By September 16 this year, we hope to have total clarity on what the roles, responsibilities and functions of provincial government, national government, districts and the local level governments are,” said Marape.
“We hope to be expeditious in the way and manner in which we do business to deliver services to our people,” Marape concluded.
