Dept gets lowest in budget, says Solomon

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Wednesday 27th March, 2013

By SONIA KENU        
COMMUNITY development department is one of the state agencies which receives the lowest budget allocation every year, acting secretary Anna Solomon says. 
“To replicate on this, I have visited provinces and found that the budget allocation to some of the provinces were as low as K500,000,” Solomon said.
She was speaking at a workshop for development partners and stakeholders in Port Moresby yesterday.
The workshop followed a breakfast hosted by the government on Monday to commemorate National Women’s Day which fell on March 24.
Solomon said the event marked PNG women’s advancement and empowerment in economy, social justice and also recognised women in the local communities who had been vocal in addressing gender and child issues.
She acknowledged its development partners United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Australian Aid, National Women’s Council and other stakeholders who had been the backbone of all its programmes. 
Solomon said recently there had been reports in the media on violence-related stories that showed women as victims.
“All these bad stories have over-shadowed the achievements a good number of our women have achieved,” she said.
Finance Minister James Marape thanked donor agencies and church groups who had worked with the community development department in providing services to the people.