Koensong denies misusing K14m

By YVONNE HAIP
A YOUTH leader in Mendi, Southern Highlands, has accused a senior official with the provincial administration of misappropriating K14 million.
Mendi town youth leader John Mombulu Arikepo claimed the money had been given to the administration by Oil Search Ltd but had been deposited into a personal bank account.
He said the funds had been intended for basic infrastructure projects such as the construction of roads, bridges, health centres and schools.
Arikepo claimed the money had not been used as intended and was being used personally on false claim payments and cash handouts.
Deputy administrator Dr Bravy Koensong denied the claim saying the K14 million was part of the province’s internal revenue.
He said the province had always received money from sources such as the Mineral Resources Development Company, National Planning Department, Department of Petroleum and Energy as well as the liquefied natural gas project contractors.
He said funds made available by these sources made up the annual internal revenue and the governor and
the provincial executive council were responsible for them.
“The PEC handles all budgets, finds money and gives it to the administration to put into action but that, however, does not happen in Southern Highlands,” he said.
 Koensong said internal revenue for the province was not handled well because the provincial council “did not give funds to the provincial administration and public servants to carry out work”.
He said in terms of service delivery to the people, the provincial administration was in the dark and was only operating using the government’s functional grants.
Koensong said the allegations levelled against the administration were false because “we have no idea where the money is”.