THE West New Britain provincial budget for 2008 is aimed at developing the remote areas of the province.
WNB Governor Peter Humphreys said the unprecedented funding through the District Support Grants in 2008 would be used to achieve this.
“The WNB government will strengthen the Technical Services Department in the province to undertake the role of scoping and monitoring of projects,” Mr Humphreys said.
He said it would be foolish to spend District Support Grants on projects aimed at improving infrastructure in the districts without monitoring the projects and signing off on completion.
The governor and chairman for Finance said the 2008 provincial budget also catered for a trawler to be purchased.
Mr Humphreys described the trawler as an essential tool in the delivery and monitoring of government services to the people.
He said there would be no excuses for government personnel attending to people in the remote areas when the trawler is purchased.
Mr Humphreys said WNB was fortunate to have a strong economic base.
He said current indications projected the next five to 10 years to see an economic boom in the province.
He said his government wanted to see these benefits flow onto the people of West New Britain.
He told the assembly meeting last week that he would be addressing the issue of derivation grants with the National Government to have the grant to West New Britain province proportionate to its contribution to the national purse.
He said 69% of the 2008 budget totalling K55,444,807 would come from government grants while 31% to be raised locally through taxes.
This is a decrease of K5,766.993 from the 2007 budget of K61,211,800.
The biggest slice of the 2008 budget goes to public servants’ salaries totalling K28,852,300 just under half of the total budget.
The rest of of the budget:
* Infrastucture and maintenance K10,835,700;
* Administration K4,550,000;
* Social sector K3,165,800;
* LLG K2,745,500;
* Services K1,440,00;
* Community K1,320,00;
* Law and order K745,300; and
* Others K1,769,607
Debt servicing of K600,000 and a grant of K150,000 to the development bureau and another K20,000 for the provincial health board establishment are some of the expenses that come under other expenses.
Mr Humphreys said to boost internal revenue, two new taxes had been introduced.
Tax on road users and beer drinkers are projected to earn just over K1million.
Revenue from rent on government property, GST, land tax and licensing fees and fines are projected to raise over 18 million kina, a decrease by over K7million from 2007.
Mr Humphreys said this was because the projections in the past have been exaggerated.
The governor also cautioned officers in the revenue collection unit to be honest and transparent in their dealings, adding that the Government still misses out on taxes and fees.
To improve roads in the province, the government has set aside K1million for counter part funding on roads.
Mr Humphreys said the provincial government would be seeking donor assistance in developing and maintaining infrastructure because it was a very expensive exercise.