Central City work to resume after 6 years
By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
THE Central City Development project is set to resume with a K50 million allocation after being stagnant for about six years, the project’s new steering committee chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Dr Puka Temu said last Thursday.
The K50 million was allocated by the National Government with the approval of the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare for the project on an area of 580,000 hectares that would cater for 23,000 people.
The initial project development between 1998-2002 at Bautama about 20km east of Port Moresby stalled after about K12 million had been spent on administration and infrastructural foundations.
Dr Temu, who is also the Abau MP, said the project was halted due to lack of funds and infighting among former Central provincial MPs.
“Now all the current five MPs are united to see this development project become a reality,” he said.
Dr Temu said the project is necessary for the Central people for losing Port Moresby to the nation in 1973 when it (Port Moresby) became the capital city after the nation gained self-government status.
“Reports have revealed that there is an access of K700,000 in the project’s trust account,” he said, adding they had advertised in the media for new professional officers to take over the current project management team.
“The steering committee too has taken over the trust account,” he said.
However, sources within the public accounts committee (PAC) have expressed concern that the National Government had allocated the K50 million without the Auditor-General’s (AG) consent.
“The AG is the legitimate organisation to audit for the project’s financial status and not a private audit company. After all, the public funds were used on the project,” the PAC source said.
It said the former project team too had been summoned to appear before them (PAC) to explain how they had managed with K12 million on the project “because we believe the infrastructure now on the site do not justify the amount of money spent,” the source said.
The infrastructure now on site are the excavation works and temporary access roads to the key sites , major drainage systems and the main access road from the main Bautama roundabout to the ridge.
Central Governor Alphones Moroi had previously commissioned Sir Makena Geno and associate audit firm to investigate the management of the project’s funds.
After suspecting the funds had been misused, Mr Moroi stopped the project.
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