Cash-strapped Treasury has eyes on fixed deposits

SECRETARY for Treasury Dairi Vele says some departments are holding on to cash which the Government will be collecting.
Vele said revenue earning avenues were there but the Government entities which were supposed to be giving money to the Government were not doing so.
“When we started on our budget this year, we called it a “tough-times budget,” Vele told an Asian Development Bank event yesterday.
“It is a hard budget but we need to spend wisely. And that happened because we started funding all these monies in statutory authorities,” he said.
“So people say its fake revenue. It’s not fake revenue. It’s the actual cash that is sitting there.”
Vele said one organisation had K655 million in cash.
“This cash belong to the people of Papua New Guinea. It was put into interest bearing deposit,” he said.
“When you keep money in banks, when I need to pay for salaries, when I need to pay for roads, when I need to pay ADB back, I’ve got to go and borrow that same money at a price. I’m borrowing my own money for a fee to pay other people back.
“So we explain to cabinet and say: Honorable ministers, for your payroll, I had to go and borrow it. It’s your money but I had to go and borrow so I can pay you and all other public servants.
“So everyone had enough and said if it’s our money, go and get it back. And that is why we’ve got a spike in our revenue. We are going to take money back from these organisations.”