Mayor says K1.6m budget not enough

 By ZACHERY PER

KUNDIAWA urban authority has passed its 2011 annual budget of K1.6 million on Wednesday in Kundiawa, Chimbu.

Mayor of the town and deputy governor Teine Sogan, however,  described the budget as insufficient to cater for the increasing population migrating to Kundiawa town.

The town is already feeling the pressure of demand for basic services of sanitation, water supplies, sewerage, space for bus stops and others are in high demand, according to Songan.

He said that with the increased prices of goods and services, the K1,645,400 was simply not enough to cater for all the needs.

The town authority expects all Chimbu MPs to contribute K100,000 each towards maintaining the town, because the town serves all the people from all the districts.

Sogan said it was  a new proposal to secure more funding to help revive the deteriorating public facilities in the town.

“Contributions from MPs would be tied to specific projects in the town’s vicinity where concerned MPs who provided the funding will have the honour to cut the ribbon to open the projects.”

He said the MPs’ component represents K500,000, excluding contribution of Kundiawa-Gembogl MP Joe Mek Teine, as he always gives priority to fund services in the town.

Sogan said Mek Teine earlier supported the authority with a dump truck and tractor for gabbage collections, office support vehicle, walkabout sawmill and cash grant of over K100,000.

He said this money was budgeted for the town beautification programmes last year, adding that MP Mek Teine had given over K1 million to the authority during the past two years.

However, the Chimbu government has neglected the authority by not allocating any funding under this year’s budget which was passed last month, Sogan said.

“How does the provincial government expect us  in the authority to maintain the town with no allocations?”

Sogan also said the town needs to expand.