Department reviews planning framework

 THE Department of National Planning and Monitoring is reviewing the planning framework before the tabling of the Planning Act in Parliament.

Minister Charles Abel said the planning framework set the cascading plans right down to the annual budgets and the medium-term development plan.

It also establishes the national service delivery framework.

“This is the spatial framework for the skeleton of the Government superimposed on Papua New Guinea and it tells us where we are going to provide the minimum levels of service from the regional headquarters such as Port Moresby, Lae, Mt Hagen and Kokopo,” Abel said.

“It cascades down to provincial and district headquarters, local level governments, ward levels and down to the village and households.

“Once we have that basic framework there, everybody then coordinates themselves around building that one framework.

“Whether you’re a development partner, church or one of the relevant agencies of government, district development authority, provincial government or local level government, we all build and put the meat around one skeleton so we have a coordinated approach toward service delivery.

“Don’t do ad-hoc random projects in villages. 

“We don’t know how you are working. 

“It’s got be a coordinated approach so when you intervene here and you work with the DDAs and you create the asset and hand it over, they will look after and sustain it.”

Abel called on development partners such as the European Union, World Bank, Water Aid and Oxfam to work together under the single framework.

“You can’t go down to the districts without consulting the district development authority, provincial governments and local level governments,” Abel said. 

“Look at that spatial framework because service delivery looks at what gaps are there and helps the government fill those gaps.” 

He said the government and donor agencies working on a single development planning framework would help deliver more services to the people.