The bid to create a Lae city commission may seem “easy to achieve”.
But a line has been drawn between those WHO’support the bid and those who oppose it.
On Friday, Manasupe Zurenuoc, the chief secretary to government, had a closed-door discussion with the Morobe Governor in Lae.
“The budget allocated to Lae city is not enough to administer the city,” Sir Manasupe said.
The chief secretary’s visit to Lae came two weeks after a visit by the Prime Minister. The city commission was part of the PM’s discussion with the PEC.
The centre of negotiations has been the total budget that has been allocated to administer Lae city.
Lae city currently gets just K4 million to provide basic services. The budget is based on a funding formula for towns.
The total budget required to operate Lae city is nearly one billion kina and the government is seeking out changes to current laws to allow that to happen.
“Should we maintain the old interim system or should we create a new one?” the Chief Secretary said.
The Lae MP who initiated the plan of having a City Commission, believes that having the commission will allow for better provision of services as the body will be able to generate its' own income through taxes and fees.
Morobe Governor Kelly Naru, who has maintained a stand against the commission, sees the commission as a duplication of the city council’s role.
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