MINISTER for National Planning and District Development Paul Tiensten has described the K1.637 billion Supplementary Budget passed on Tuesday as a policy-driven budget and promised he would do his part to ensure that the national development strategy was adequately funded.
“The Treasurer has done well to ensure that his first budget is driven by the Government’s development policy,” he said.
“It is a quality budget because it is a people, growth and development-oriented budget.”
He said the policy-driven budget showed that the Government was responding to the most basic needs of the great majority of Papua New Guineans.
He noted that K356 million had been earmarked for key services in the districts under the District Services Improvement Programme.
Each district will receive K4 million in order to deliver the most critical and basic services such as water supply, law and justice, health and education.
“This is consistent with the Somare Government’s commitment to fast-track service delivery, to equally share the benefits of the windfall and most importantly to rapidly disburse these benefits to where they matter most.”
He said the Government had made deliberate and decisive decisions to invest in strategic, high-impact economic infrastructure projects.
“This included K145 million for Lae wharf redevelopment programme in order to ease the current pressure as well as to cater for anticipated economic activity in Lae and surrounding provinces.”
He said in addition, the Government had allocated K40 million for the implementation of the National Agriculture Development Plan.
“This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to put money in a sector that is so important to the livelihood of the ordinary Papua New Guineans and the country as a whole.”

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