LLGs position needs strengthening

Editorial, Normal

NORTHERN acting administrator Owen Awaita yesterday lamented the dire financial position of several local level governments in his province.
While acknowledging the concerns of the LLGs, Awaita said funds had been delayed by the Department of Treasury.
Problems facing the Higaturu, Kokoda, Kira, Kamata and Oro Bay LLGs are not exclusive to these LLGs alone.
Throughout the country, LLGs have been operating on shoestring budgets and some with nil funds for many years.
This third tier of government, the most neglected in the country, is also what we could refer to as the rock-face, or the frontline, in the development fight.
Here is where the problems are, where the people are. Here is where the government ought to be concentrating most of it policies and programmes on, and it is not.
Part of this problem lies with the national government and Parliament, in the way the law has been drafted and how government had consistently contravened certain provisions. Part of it lies with the LLGs themselves.
Let us take the second point first.
Receipt and expenditure of money, particularly public money, must be accounted for. It is a legal requirement under the Public Finance (Management) Act.
Yet, these LLGs have, for many years, operated with almost no accounting system in place. This is not to suggest that something untoward has been happening. On the contrary, many LLGs just do not have the required skilled and experienced accounts staff to do their books.
Many clerks, who handle the books, have hardly any education, much less any accounting skills.
This is evident by the scathing comments made by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee in its report tabled recently.
In part, it said: “The systems of fiscal recording, accounting, management and accountability prescribed by the Public Finances (Management) Act, the financial instructions, the Organic Law on provincial government and local level governments and other laws for provincial and local level governments had, by 2005, collapsed.
“That state of collapse continued last year.
“Oversight, audit and enforcement of fiscal accountability for the use of, and transactions, with public monies, property and stores by provincial and local level governments was, by 2005, almost non-existent.
“Rural LLGs were not audited due to lack of resources and records and because total funding did not exceed 5% of the appropriation funds from provincial governments.”
No audit of local level government accounts was performed between 1993 and 2003.
This, then, is the state of affairs with the local level governments. There is presently no expectation in provincial headquarters, or in Waigani, that what little is given to local level governments will be accounted for.
A situation existed where almost all LLGs throughout the country operate in contravention of the provisions of the Public Finance (Management) Act and the Organic Law on provincial and local level governments.
In such a situation, Treasury or Finance Department would not be inclined to pour money which cannot be accounted for.
On the other hand, and this is point number one, Treasury and Finance, are compelled by the Organic Law on provincial and local level governments to give a specific amount to each LLG as per a specific calculation which had been worked into the Organic Law.
The Organic Law specifically calculates grants to LLGs at K12.50 per head of population in each LLG area.
This money, to our knowledge, has never been paid.
Local level governments had failed to pursue this matter vigorously as they should since this is a requirement of a constitutional law. As to why such a specific calculation should have been accepted as law, and why it should be set at that specific figure, we are at a loss to understand.
Development, and lack of it, happens at the ward level, at LLG level in this country.
To resource these third tier government, and have them working effectively, is to get the development agenda on the right track which is at the ward level.