Development depends on 2014 budget

By CLEMENT KAUPA

 WITH well over K1 billion in infrastructure development commitments riding on the successful hand-down of the 2014 budget, Morobe will be closely watching developments in Waigani next Tuesday.

It is a relief to learn that the forecast 6% of the gross domestic product is well under the manageable level of budget deficits, while the perceptible outline of the money plan looks promising. 

It is reassuring news indeed for Morobe’s well-documented struggles with its law and order issues, poor road infrastructure, run-down public health facilities and under-funded education sector.   

And the Lae-Nabzab super highway’s K800 million, Angau Hospital’s K742 million reconstruction, Lae city roads K100 million rehabilitation and the completion of the Lae tidal basin project all hinge on it too.

Of course, other external funding arrangements will kick in but the fact remains that the new budget is the catalyst.

Furthermore, with the deficit underpinning next year’s budget, prudent and practical financial management will have to apply in critical areas of public spending. 

This is especially so for Morobe, with its backlog of infrastructure development, re-development and maintenance, festering social issues and a highly evolved economy.