Lae in K20mil debt

LAE urban local level government (LULLG) has a debt of more than K20 million, Lord Mayor James Khay says. Khay said most of it came from hiring vehicles, engaging unnecessary people and putting them on payroll and housing rentals.
“These cost areas have blown up the budget, leaving the LULLG with this huge amount of debt that needs to be repaid,” he said.
Khay accused the previous administration of obtaining many unbudgeted items which had contributed to the debt.
He said K700,000 for housing rentals alone was yet to be paid while all land under the council had been sold out.
“These portions of land were sold to business houses in Lae city and LULLG has no records of the proceedings of these sales,” he said.
Khay estimated that the sale of those pieces of land amounted to at least K10 million.
“Nothing is showing in the books stating that the money is received by the LULLG,” he said. “The business houses that paid for the land, made payments to which account?”
Khay questioned how those properties belonging to the LULLG were sold as nothing was received in return. He claimed the sales were not in accordance with set procedures.
“What I will do now as a newly-elected lord mayor, is to take back all those portions of land to LULLG.
“There are a total of six portions of land that were sold out by the previous administration,” he said.
Khay said according to the bank statements, there was nothing showing how much was paid, who paid it, to whom it was paid to and when the payments were made.