Bills come first in DSIP funding

National

THE KOKOPO City Authority board will use its grants from the district service improvement programme carried forward to this year to settle outstanding bills.
Chief executive and district administrator John Talele said  this during the first meeting of the authority board this week.
When briefing chairman and MP for Kokopo Emil Tammur Talele said the board was planning on using the funds to pay its debts. He said K5 million from the DSIP this year received before the national election could not be expended due to the freeze on all PSIP and DSIP accounts.
Therefore, they recommended that all outstanding bills would be given preference under a revised budget of the current funding available at the district treasury operating account.
Talele said this would ensure that some outstanding commitments and existing contracts were sorted out.
He said there was more than K14,000 carried forward from past years and added to the K5 million in service improvement programme funds this year.
Almost 70 per cent of the debts were under the infrastructure sector including emergency road works, rural electrification and construction of the Bitapaka High School, and the district office complex.
Talele said  there were issues and challenges faced by the district in terms of compliance to the Public Finance Management Act, DSIP guidelines, contract engagement without authority to pre-commit, planning and budgeting, demarcation of political and administrative functions, deteriorating road conditions and internal revenue generation.
He said outstanding impact projects under the last term of government included the Raniolo Holding Centre, which was 20 per cent complete.
The centre which is on a 10ha plot of land, would take in settlers relocated from the Raniolo dump to allow for subdivisions by the Luluka Land Group.