Do not interfere: Official

The National Main Stories

THERE should not be any political interference in the public service mechanisms that are already in place, says former Planning and Monitoring Department secretary Valentine Kambori.
“The budget itself is okay but it is the implementation that is of concern,” he said when commenting on the tabling of Budget 2023.
“The implementation is weakened by political interference.
“It is noble, the things that the Government is planning to do (in the budget).
“They have very good initiatives but, in my opinion, they have crossed over from being political authority into public administration which just weakens the system.
“The secretaries are not free by virtue of them being mandated as secretaries.
“They (should) not (be) subjected to political interference.
“These so called unsolicited projects, we did not have those unsolicited projects before.
“The new ministers, through their own processes, come up with projects in their favour.”
Kambori said they should go through a planning process for over five years.
“The treasury and planning budget review process is a cycle since Independence,” he said.
“The budget review process, the planning review process, the public investment programme and the quarterly budget review process.
“Minister Rainbo Paita said they are not going to absorb monitoring and evaluation but that is a function of the Government.
“You do not give it to the private sector. “Outsourcing will cost us money per unit labour,” Kambori added.

Project fees on way out, household scheme in

ABOUT K160 million has been allocated towards removing school project fees in the next academic year, Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey says.
This was part of the K590 million cost of living relief provided in the K24.5 billion Budget 2023 handed down in Parliament yesterday by Ling-Stuckey.
“This (K160 million) is a particularly important measure to get assistance out to rural areas and families, many of whom do not have a car or a job earning more than K20,000 per annum,” he said.
Prime Minister James Marape noted that it was the first time for a government to develop a household assistance scheme to help address some of the cost-of-living pressures such as increased prices for fuel, cooking oil, rice and fertilisers for farmers.

Govt tables general expenditure bill, plans to mobilise non-tax revenue

THE Government has tabled the General Public Service Expenditure 2023 bill in Parliament yesterday.
The appropriation bill details expenditure items of government from its list of priorities with funding from the consolidated revenue.
The government money plan was part of the seven enabling bills presented by the treasurer.
These include; l GENERAL Public Services Expenditure 2023;

  • JUDICIARY Services bill 2023;
  • NATIONAL parliament 2023 (appropriation);
  • INCOME Tax (Amendment) bill;
  • CUSTOMS Tariff (Amendment) bill;
  • EXCISE Tariff (Amendment) bill;
  • INCOME Tax (Salary and Wages (Amendment) bill; and the,
  • INCOME Tax, Dividend (withholding) Tax and Interest (withholding) Tax Rates (Amendment) bill. Treasury Minister Ian Ling-Stuckey also presented the Non-Tax Revenue Bill.

“The introduction of the non-tax Revenue bill is to continue the good work of mobilising non-tax revenue and then Public Money Management Regularisation (PMMR) Act,” he said.
He said the government introduced the PMMR Act 2017, in the 2018 budget and its purpose was to bring all non-tax revenue collection into a consolidated revenue fund to support the budget and allow all government agencies to be funded through the normal budget process.
“However in May 2020, the Supreme Court declared that the PMMR Act was unconstitutional,” he said.
Its implementation he said was nullified.
“And as a result, the non-tax revenue were not remitted to the consolidated revenue funds but were withheld by State agencies and statutory bodies,” he said.
“This significantly reduced the government’s revenue collections.
“The government in close consultation with relevant agencies has developed the NTR administration bill.
“The bill will rectify the tactical errors and defects of the PMMR Act.”
Ling-Stuckey further added that the implementation of the bill was expected to collect more than K550 million in 2023 and continue to increase the non-tax revenue collection overtime.