Tight measure on funds

By MALUM NALU in Tari

THE Finance Department will have a very tight control of funds during the general election this year, Secretary Dr Ken Ngangan says.
Ngangan, also the chairman of finance in the inter-department election committee, was addressing provincial and district finance managers at a conference in Tari yesterday.
“The way in which elections are managed has changed,” he said.
“Previously, the Electoral Commission, through the commissioner, managed elections single-handedly.
“Now the inter-department election committee, chaired by the chief secretary (Isaac Lupari), are managing the 2017 general election through a whole-of-government approach.”
Ngangan is in charge of finance and procurement and would ensure that electoral officers would not carry “bags of money” around.
“That is not their job. That is (the) Finance (department) work,” he said. “This year you will not even see them touching a toea.
“We want to see a 100 per cent free election with minimal or no disputed election results, and better election outcomes.
“The Electoral Commission is focused on running elections – not 75 per cent of the time managing money.
“We look forward to seeing a better election this year.”
He said security allowances for security officers and those who carried ballot boxes must be paid into their bank accounts.
Ngangan said there would no longer be any cash or cheque payments. “At the end of the election, we want to have zero liability,” he said.
He admitted that there was a liability of K60 million from the 2012 election.