K2.7 million distributed to churches

A TOTAL of K2.7 million has been distributed to churches, from the K3 million allocated to the church-state partnership programme under the Department of Community Development, Youth and Religion (DCDYR).
Minister Wake Goi presented cheques to partner churches at the end of the fifth gathering of the Church Development Council in Lae, Morobe, yesterday.
The Catholic Bishops Conference (CBC) received the highest amount of K200,000, followed by K180,000 each to the Baptist Union of PNG and the Evangelical Lutheran church of PNG, K170,000 to the PNG Union Mission Seventh-day Adventist, and various amounts to other mainline churches.
Goi said the remaining funds from the K3 million would go towards administration and cover other commitments made to churches.
He said although K3 million was an increase from the previous year, it was still below the K10 million expected.
“We would want a fixed budget for the church-state partnership,” he said.
“This (fixed amount) would be steady so in times when the economy is facing problems, the budget can remain and when it improves, the budget can increase.”