BY ALFRED PAGEPITU
GIZO
THE Western provincial government has come under fire for tabling its draft revised budget 2017/2018 at an ‘inconvenient and awkward time’.
Non-executive MPA Ramrakha Talasasa (member for ward 16) blames the western provincial executive for negligence in tabling a revised budget which has already been spent “some 12 months ago”.
On Monday this week, the Western provincial assembly sat over its draft revised budget 2017/2018. It was successfully passed.
However, Mr Talasasa says the inconvenient and awkward timing of the sitting does not allow for thorough and necessary reviews to be made on the budget, which he says would have otherwise ensured maximum productivity and equity for the government.
“The deliberate negligence of holding a mid-term review, allows deviations from assembly directions being set up almost exactly 12 months ago in the effort of having a sound financial management practice to allow divisional objective from being side tracked by unnecessary variances incurred through over spending by the provincial executive and under spendings by provincial government divisions.
“This imbalance has becoming a common practice and a reflection on exactly the kind of behaviour we criticise of the Unitary system being evident at the provincial level where compliance is only a matter for discussion political wills.
“Physical discipline in the economy of western province is very important and this is to ensure that we have the right business environment.
“This is to allow a boost in economic activities, setting standards by which we conduct development in our urban centres, allowing a give and take system whereby people pay taxes, rates or licenses, for actually receiving services such as proper roads and access, proper water supply, proper ground works and planning done before allocating land to successful applicants, appropriate infrastructures, establish economic base infrastructures, support health and education services and advance government policies.”
He said the province’s government must seriously allow for these needs to be addressed in the provincial government level.
Meanwhile, the second session for the Assembly to debate the new budget for 2018/2019 will be held at the Women Resource centre today at 9am.
