Govt bracing for new variant: Wong

THE Government is preparing for the potential risks that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Omicron strain poses on the people, Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS Jelta Wong says.
He said with the Delta variant still causing havoc and the Covid-19 pandemic placing a lot of strain on the health sector over the last 20 months, the country along with the global community continued to learn and adapt.
“The pressures we have faced have exposed long-standing gaps in public health, and amplified the chronic inequities in health service delivery,” he said.
“From this crisis our Government is using our resources wisely to reset and rebuild our health care system (through):”

• DEVELOPING a more integrated approach into increase investment in health with improved infrastructure; and,
• BUILDING stronger and more resilient partnerships;

“The health sector sees an increase in core funding of K2.55 billion in the 2022 Budget allocation.
“This is a 46 per cent increase on the K809.6 million on the 2021 budget allocation.”
Wong said the several critical areas in the budget that needed to be highlighted that impacted the lives of people in every district and province were:

• 6,000 Christian Health Services, Catholic Health Services nursing and other staff captured in the Alesco Payroll system in 2022;
• INCREASED funding support for medical supplies procurement and distribution; and
• ALLOCATION of the long overdue K15 million for the nurses awards.

“The K2.5 billion health sector budget for 2022 is inclusive of the operational costs of K569 million, accounting for 22.3 per cent of the total health budget.

Plan missing, says Kapavore

POMIO MP Elias Kapavore highlighted the lack of a 10-year national health plan during debate on the 2022 Budget yesterday.
He said the health sector had received an increase in the funding allocation for next year, hence it was important that the plan 2021-2030 was ready for the implementation of the budget.
He said in next year’s Budget, K62 million was allocated to the Covid-19 emergency response but it was not clear if the Health Department had a nationwide response plan or not.
“I am not sure whether if there is a plan to control the allocation of funds,” he said.
“This is mainly due to the fact that there is no national health plan to determine the key priorities and expected outcome
“The previous health plan covered the period 2011 to 2020.
“This means that in the past 11 months the Health Department has expanded hundreds of millions of kina without a plan which is a key Government policy document and is required under Section 4 of the National Health Administration Act of 1997.”

Introduce levy in a time frame, says MP

AITAPE/LUMI MP Patrick Pruaitch hopes Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey considers a limited time frame for the implementation of the “dominant player levy” proposed in Budget 2022.
The former Treasurer said the time frame would make way for new entrants into the two particular sectors that would be impacted by the levy.
“The levy could be viewed as an attempt to spread out the benefits from the economic sectors that are still doing well.
“A limited time span should enable the Government and Bank of PNG to actively seek out new banking entrants.
“More competition, along with foreign involvement, is desperately needed in this sector,” he added.
Pruaitch said the Government had inherited fiscal and economic challenges from past policies.
“These have led to a decline in the formal sector employment since about 2013 or 2014 and is suggestive of a need for policies that promote an economic turnaround.
“As a result of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and the closure of the Porgera mine, the pace of job losses has persisted and the future remains clouded with some uncertainty.
“The Treasurer has pursued an extremely difficult course, obtaining record levels of budget assistance from Australia and Japan.
“This has been made possible because of alignment with the International Monetary Fund. More such assistance has been made available in the Budget 2022, including grants from Australia to bolster our key health and education sectors.

State can raise revenue

JUSTICE Minister Bryan Kramer says the Government has to demonstrate that it can raise revenue in difficult times, so has proposed the super levy tax on Bank South Pacific (BSP) Financial Group Ltd and Digicel.
He told Parliament yesterday that the argument was whether the decision was fair, from a commercial point of view, on BSP and Digicel.
“We are in difficult times, the Government has to demonstrate that it can raise revenue so it can continue to borrow to keep the economy going,” Kramer said.
“I am sure the good Minister for Treasury will take the opportunity to sit down with those main players and put in place some guidelines and understanding on how to make it fair so it is not only targeted at them but everyone has to pay their fair share.
“If you make super profits in the time of a pandemic, you can’t play the victim. If your business closes and you put the employees off, you are the victim, not a K900 million profit after tax. So I am sure based on discussions with the Treasurer, those industries to reassure them in terms of going forward, what is the best way in the application of this tax.

Bird suggests levy should apply equally to all

TREASURY should defer the implementation of the dominant industry levy on banking and telecommunications sectors until its full impact on the people and economy is determined, East Sepik Governor Allan Bird says.
Bird, who is the Plans and Estimates Committee chairman, said the committee was concerned about the proposed levy that would be imposed on Bank South Pacific Financial Group Ltd (BSP) and Digicel when the levy is imposed.
“We note that this is a tax on super profits and should apply equally to all companies and not just two.
“Some 500,000 people pay income tax and we need to protect them and their benefits.
“We do not believe that tax measures should be punitive, discriminatory or directed at specific companies.
“We believe there are other tools available through regulators, the Central Bank and National ICT Authority, to bring about a fair level playing field for all businesses in the respective sectors.
“In the case of BSP, we note that it is 90 per cent Papua New Guinea- owned and is the most successful home grown company operating internationally,” he added.
Bird urged the Government not to let misunderstandings between Government and Members of Parliament ferment in the decision to implement the proposed tax on BSP.
“The committee suggests that the District Services Improvement Programme and Provincial Services Investment Programme funds be cut by K3 million or that the treasury delayed the implementation of the new levy until its impacts are determined.