Dept heads told to use funds wisely

 By MALUM NALU 
Chief secretary Isaac Lupari has told department heads to cut down on wasting money and resources given the monetary situation the country was facing.
He told them at their meeting in Port Moresby on Friday that it was something they should do if they were worth their jobs.
“What money comes in is what we budget and given to all of you,” Lupari said.
“If it doesn’t come in, it affects all of us.”
He said it was just like a home budget with money being budgeted for the family.
“The same principle applies to the workplace,” Lupari said.
“If there is K10, and you want K20, you have to prioritise to make sure that the activities of your department are not compromised.
“In the family, you have to make sure that the family is fed and there is food on the table. That is how we need to approach our departments.
“Some of us are acting as if manna is falling from heaven – this is the wrong mentality. Our responsibility is to be prudent, take responsibility of those issues, be accountable and be smart in our thinking.
“We have a situation in our national budget where you are not going to get all the money you asked for.”
Lupari said there was a cash-flow problem and he would meet with department heads every Wednesday to decide on how to spend what was coming in.