East Sepik was bankrupt in 2017: Bird

The National National
People from Mui village in the Bumbuita- Muhiang local level government in East Sepik listening to their Governor Allan Bird (left).
Allan Bird

EAST Sepik Governor Allan Bird says the government had only K20,000 in its coffer when he took office on Aug 8, 2017.
“Today, as I submitted my nomination papers on Thursday, the Government’s coffer stands at K161,840,969.70,” he said.
“In 2017, we were low on internal revenue and our grants had not arrived.
“The provincial government could not pay its bills, including its casual staff, teachers leave fares and we owed money to many businesses over the years.
“Our province was technically bankrupt.
“We now have for many projects, already under way and funds for our 28 local level governments.”
Bird said all outstanding bills from previous governments had been settled.
He said the Government had just passed a record budget of K491 million.
“It is my duty to ensure that there is enough money to operate and to fund our development aspirations, that our people get value for money and that corruption is minimised or eradicated,” he said.