BY BARNABAS MANEBONA
IN TULAGHI
CENTRAL Islands Province (CIP) being disqualified from the PCDF funding in 2017 resulted in Tulaghi’s incomplete Shopping complex now heavily debated.
To add, with the decreased allocation given by the National Government to all Provincial Capacity Development Funding (PCDF) this year for all provinces dropped the hope CIP’s current provincial Executive Government had to continue with that particular project for the province.
Instead of receiving the usual $15 Million allocation, CIP being re-qualified for the recent 2018 PCDF funding had only received less than $10 Million, and that is $9.9 Million.
The cut in PCDF budgets had sparked great concern throughout the provincial governments of the country seeing that many planned projects and developments will be affected.
CIP’s Premier Patrick Vasuni is aware of heavy criticisms over the Shopping Complex towards his current Executive government however, he states that the incomplete shopping complex building does not mean that they have forgotten about it.
In fact the shopping complex was yet the plan of the past Executive Government over which his Executive Government had fallen victim.
“With the decreased PCDF allocation this time round means that we have to focus first on other prioritised developments for the province such as through its education and health sections before we move on to find ways to continue with such other incomplete projects as the shopping complex having its initial cost spending was nearly $5 Million being just too much for the province PCDF spending,” said Vasuni.
“In reality, the province does not have the capacity in terms of business development which our government question why the past provincial Executive Government came up with such plans.”
From the mess being left behind by the past CIP provincial Executive Government, Vasuni assures through Island Sun yesterday that their government is now trying to address it in which their first step is to allow the local Engineer now given the task over the complex to first make further assessments.
