Dion: All outside funds pass through accountable processes

By ELIZABETH VUVU
EAST New Britain Governor Leo Dion has assured people in his province that funds given by the national government to the province to provide services to the people goes through an accountable and transparent process.
Speaking last week, he said in the past few weeks there had been so much concern and allegations raised about the usage of public funds in the provincial government or funds that came from outside the province.
Dion took the time to assure people of ENB that whatever kind of funding that was given by the national government was not given directly to him as the governor, or to the provincial administrator or a member of parliament, but went through a process.
“The governor does not hold the cheque book for the government and is not the finance manager of the provincial government nor is the governor an automated teller machine,” Dion said. 
He said ENB had a transparent process that the province was well aware of and was the provincial government was accountable to the people.
He said the province’s audit books were available for inspection and explained that there was an auditorium in place for the provincial internal auditor and national auditor.
“For anybody to come and raise such allegations would mean they may have some other motives.”
Dion said, with regards to the millions of kina that had been given to the province to provide service, the people were well aware of those, through their representatives in the provincial assembly and provincial executive council’s endorsement of projects.