Govt complies with reporting requirements, says Abel

TREASURER Charles Abel, pictured, says the government is complying with the reporting requirements of the Mid-Year Economic Fiscal Outlook.
He told Parliament he would present the 2019 Budget Strategy Paper tomorrow and also comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Act in terms of tabling the outlook report.
Shadow Treasurer and Kavieng MP Ian Ling-Stuckey had queried the “false and misleading” 2018 outlook report.
Abel said “we have gone ahead on time and made sure that report was published”.
“I want to emphasis once again our efforts on this side of the house to make sure that we are complying with all the reporting requirements,” he said.
He said information collection and reporting had been an issue in the past which the Government was trying to rectify.
Able said in terms of the free health policy, people were accessing services and those policies were being executed through the provincial health authorities and health centres right down to aid posts.
He said 40 per cent of the expenditure priorities in the budget had been met and 44 per cent of the revenue had been collected.
“It is in the second half of the year that the majority of the financing will come to bear. Tax collection and dividend collection will come to bear. We will make up the balance of that 56 per cent in terms of the revenue and the 60 per cent that is outstanding on the expenditure side.
“We are committed to it. These are not fake figures. We are confident of achieving them. And elements of the taxation stream are above budget.”
He said he would table all the figures tomorrow.