Govt denies K2 million claim

THE government has brushed aside reports that it had paid members of parliament K2 million each to gain their support during the recent political upheaval and failed vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.
Instead, it maintained that the money was part of the MPs’ allocation for this year, which was also paid out to members in opposition.
Several government ministers told The National yesterday that funds from the district support improvement programme (DSIP) had been equally distributed to each of the 89 districts, resulting in improved service delivery unlike in the past.
Deputy Prime Minister Don Polye said K17 million was allocated for DSIP purposes with each district getting K3 million each this year, whether their representative was in government or opposition.
He said the K2 million was part of the allocation for this year, and not monies paid to lure MPs as reported.
Public Service Minister and Treasurer Peter O’Neill also confirmed yesterday that members on both sides of the house would be paid their DSIP monies.
Like Polye, he said the K2 million was part of this year’s K3 million DSIP allocation and those who missed out due to cashflow constraints would receive their funding towards the end of the year.
However, government backbencher and Telefomin MP Peter Iwei said he had not received the DSIP funds for his district for this year.
“I call on O’Neill to release these monies immediately,” Iwei said.
He said the the government should not play politics with the district development grants as the funds were constitutional grants meant for the people of PNG.