Chimbu approves K70 million budget

By ZACHERY PER
CHIMBU, for the first time in history passed the highest 2011 provincial budget of more than K70 million in Kundiawa this week which was focused at rural development.
Governor Fr John Garia announced at the provincial assembly during the passing of the budget that all presidents of local level governments (LLGs) and their respective ward councillors would be in the forefront to implement the budget.
He said history had revealed that implementation of budgets through district administrations had never been effective, saying he now task LLG presidents and ward councillors to be in the front line of the implementation phase.
Chimbu received K67,744,600 from the national government grants and has projected to raise K3,104,600 in Internal Revenue that put the total budget figure
at K70,848,700.
Garia said 72% of the grants were for salaries and allowances while six percent was for district support grant and 22% for recurrent costs.
He said 84% of the internal revenue was also for salaries and allowances for provincial assembly members and provincial executive council members and 16% for major functions of the provincial government.
“According to National Economic and Fiscal Commission (NEFC) assessment report, Chimbu needs K16 billion to provide goods and services at 100% capacity, our current capacity is at 38%,” Garia said.
He said the national government had refocused its financing strategy to allocate money directly into the districts where local MPs and joint district budget and priority committee have direct control.
He call for implementation of such funding should complement his government’s limited resources and development charters contained in the provincial eight point development pillars.
Under the health sector, 59% of the funding goes to improve rural health services catering for services of immunisation, medical specialists to visit rural health centres, water supplies, facility maintenance and HIV/AIDS programmes.
In the education front K700, 000 was appropriated for functional grants and school fee subsidy will be maintained with parents to continue to pay the lowest fee.
In the transport sector, road maintenance K550,000, bridges K525,000, rural airstrips K465,000, administrative costs K281,000, feeder road maintenance K1,760,000, access roads K390,000 and Kundiawa airstrip spike fencing K300,000.