Call to base budgets on needs

 Provincial budgets must be based on the needs and development priorities of the province, Simbu provincial administrator Joe Kunda says.

He said the budget should accommodate the overall  vision and aspirations of the Government under Vision 2050, the National Strategic Plan and the Medium Term Development Strategy.

Presenting his paper on the issues and challenges faced on the implementation of key government policies and plans last week, Kunda shared the province’s experiences of managing and delivering services at the provincial level and what made Chimbu a performing province.

“To derive or achieve results and for service delivery to occur,  the Simbu provincial budget makes sure the budget captures the views of every stakeholder, is sub-itemised so there is no room for misappropriation and the Government direction for minimum priority activities (MPA) is strictly adhered to,” Kunda said.

He said the province launched its budget publicly so that people could see where their money was going.

Kunda said the provincial government and administration learnt that some projects that it planned to deliver did not necessarily need contractors to do them.

“We can mobilise the available government institutions and resources to implement them,” he said.

“That helps to scrutinise the project cost and achieve targets as scheduled,” he said.

He said management-wise, it was much easier than private contractors as it helped avoid legal impasses when disagreements occurred.

“National government agencies in the provinces need more resources and funding at their disposal to perform effectively in service delivery and not to wait for answers from Port Moresby every time.”