LLG elections deferred

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
THE Government has deferred the local-level government elections to next year and will use the budgeted K100 million for the exercise this year to settle allowances owed to councillors around the country.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill told Parliament yesterday: “The K100 million budgeted to conduct the (2018) LLG elections will be used to sort out all the councillors’ outstanding allowances. The councillors are owed over K70 million.”
O’Neill said more than 6000 councillors would be paid the allowances they were owed.
The Local-level governement (LLG) elections were to have been held this month but later deferred to next month. Now it will be held next April.
“This will be the final deferment. After all, we want to sort out all the councillors’ outstanding allowances so that we can conduct a debt-free local level government election,” O’Neill said.
Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas, had queried in Parliament whether the 6033 councillors’ allowances would be paid out before the LLG elections were held.
O’Neill said as he indicated to the House last week, “we have to sort out legal advice on the issues that have been debated by many councillors and stakeholders throughout the country on the allowances”.
“There are some councillors who have received their allowance.
There are a few yet to get them.”
“And the total I am told is over K70million. It is to be paid before the elections take place. In view of requests by many provincial governments and LLGs throughout the country, I have directed the Minister for Inter-Government Relations (Kevin Isifu) to get legal advice.” He said the matter had also been discussed with the Electoral Commission who advised the Government that the elections could be deferred further.
“We will use the K100million that we have budgeted for the elections to pay off all the outstanding allowances and debt so that we don’t owe anyone (any money) when we conduct the elections,” O’Neill said.
Cabinet will meet today to consider the submission from Isifu to hold the elections in April 2019.
“That is the decision Cabinet needs to approve. It will help us. We can conduct the elections in a fair and free manner in April in 2019 and there will be no (further) delays.”