Lae LLG wants change
By MADELEINE AREK
FOR more than a decade, the cash-strapped Lae urban local level government (LLG), has not been able to provide services to the satisfaction of taxpayers.
The city roads are in dire need of repair, public amenities are grossly unmanned, the streets are full of potholes and littered with betel nut stains and garbage and public areas are overgrown with bush.
In short, the city is an eye sore.
However, the organisation responsible for its upkeep cannot do much because the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments gives it the same legal and financial status as any other rural local level government, despite its urban population and the type of services it provides.
The Lae urban LLG wants to see that changed and is now lobbying for support from interested stakeholders to have the proposed Lae City Council Bill passed and the new law put in place no later than June this year.
The bill, if passed, would not only benefit city residents in Lae but other urban centres as well.
The submission for the proposed bill is now before the National Executive Council.
Lae city lord mayor James Khay said the purpose of the proposed bill is purely administrative and is aimed at effectively delivering municipal services to all who are living in Lae and those from outside who depend on the city’s infrastructural services.
According to Mr Khay, while Lae is the industrial hub of the country and hosting the largest sea port, it is not getting the right kind of support.
“While the city generates most of the province’s revenue, very little of this is put back into the city to maintain it,” he said.
“Almost 90% of the council’s annual budget is raised internally, with the balance coming from national grants.
“All activities are funded using internally raised revenue thus accumulating huge debts because the limited national grants are never received on time,” Mr Khay said.
Under the proposed bill, National Government grants will be given directly to the council to carry out its municipal responsibilities and maintain roads, drainage and garbage, with no interference from the provincial or district administration, as is the case now.
That should pave the way for better provision of services by the city authority, the aim of Mr Khay’s administration.
The proposed city council will comprise the entire Lae urban LLG and parts of Wampar, Ahi and Labuta LLGs which are within the city’s boundaries.
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