Businesses told to maximise use of electoral development funds

The National Business

By HELEN TARAWA
THE business community has been challenged to help maximise the use of electoral development funds for the benefit of the country.
Acting clerk of Parliament Kala Aufa made the call in his address at the Speaker’s Investment Summit yesterday where he said the electoral development funds were not properly spent due to a lack of capacity and proper guidance.
“Members of Parliament oversee the disbursement of electoral development funds in the form of their district and provincial services improvement programme allocation,” he said.
“In many instances, these funds are not spent properly due to lack of capacity and proper guidelines.
“Businesses have the potential to maximise the use of these funds for the benefit of the country.”
Aufa said PNG was largely a rural-based society with much of the population subsistence based and forums such as this summit were a good medium to generate discussion and action towards fostering economic activity and inclusion in our rural communities.
“I would like to see this event to be formalised in its annual calender of activities so there were more participants from the MPs and the constituents.
“Let the message trickle down to the masses, both urban and rural.
“We can only improve from the foundations already laid and I believe there is a scope for improvement in understanding the way we conduct each other’s businesses especially in the making of the laws and its application.
“The business summit will continue to provide MPs and businesses a forum annually to meet and create dialogue in areas of mutual interest.
“Hopefully, over the years we will be able to build a strong and vibrant relationship conducive for the economic growth of PNG.”
Aufa said the Speaker’s Investment summit was an initiative aimed at bringing together MPs and the business community.
He said the summit had become part of a bigger week-long event serviced by involvement of the Australian Business community and the European international agency partners.