Central govt focuses on social services

THE Central government is focusing on funding social services to improve the lives of people living in rural communities over the years, Governor Robert Agarobe says.
Agarobe said his administration was investing and prioritising education, health, road infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and sports in the province for the past four years to improve the lives of about 90 per cent of the population living there.
“The Central government has been very vocal on the economic development of the province, but we invested a lot of resources in social services to improve the lives of majority of the population in the rural communities,” he said.
Agarobe said the provincial government had been struggling to deliver services until last year due to leadership issues and revenue inconsistencies.
He said this during the 2016-2020 provincial service improvement programme funds and provincial support grants acquittals presentation to the Department of Implementation and Rural Development in Port Moresby yesterday.
Agarobe said the provincial government had acquitted about K17.8 million last year, where K11.37 million was invested in the development and administration work while K6.43 million was forwarded for next year’s budget.
He said the Central government received only K6 million as the country struggled with an economic downturn.