Committee to audit office rentals

The National National

DEPUTY Prime Minister and Treasurer Charles Abel says the Government is serious about the increasing running costs particularly the public payroll.
Tabling the 2017 Supplementary Budget yesterday, Abel said an audit of Government office rentals was among the corrective measures introduced in the budget to curb expenditure and debt.
He said a committee would be established to undertake an audit of the Government office rentals and report back to Cabinet.
Abel said fiscal and policy adjustments and actions were necessary to secure macroeconomic stability and a sustainable fiscal trajectory over the medium term.
Measures undertaken in the 100-day 25-point plan includes:

  • Ending the use of the Papua New Guinea Government Accounting System for personnel emolument payments and report back to Cabinet by Oct 1;
  • a physical audit of the Government payroll, starting with teachers and all public servants to comply with NID registration by mid-December;
  • the remittance to consolidated revenue of 90 per cent of revenues collected by non-tax agencies;
  • a review of the proposed amendments to the Lands, Investment Promotion Authority, Biosecurity and Mining legislations;
  • a review of the Energy Authority Act and the National Procurement Authority Bill;
  • an end to tied-financing by September 2017;
  • the development of a project delivery plan for the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone by November;
  • the establishment of a Project Management Office for the Highland Highway Rehabilitation Project by end of November;
  • providing options for financing the POM-Sydney international submarine cable by Nov 1;
  • arranging for all unspent appropriations to lapse by end of September unless authorised by the Ministerial Budget Committee;
  • the Attorney-General reviewing and reporting to the national executive council on the Gas Agreement for the PNG LNG project by Nov 10;
  • a Government hiring freeze; and,
  • A moratorium on further tax credit project until further notice.