Mt Hagen city authority to benefit from share of GST: Duma

HAGEN MP William Duma says the city authority will be able to get its share of goods and services tax (GST) now that Western Highlands has a new governor, Wai Rapa.
Duma said the Hagen city authority had not been able to get any GST from the provincial government for the last 20 years.
He attributed this state of affairs to former Governor Pais Wingti not seeing things ‘eye to eye’.
Duma, the State Enterprises Minister in the interim Cabinet said: “We (Hagen District Development Authority) would now be able to get some shares of the GST from the provincial government to provide services, apart from the annual K10 million in district services improvement funds (DSIP).”
Although Mt Hagen has a city authority, it does not impose taxes.
Duma is now looking forward to working with Rapa, who is also a member of his party, to receive the additional source of funding needed to deliver basic services.
“I have to seal the roads, extend the water supply, fix the sewage supply and the waste water, fix the city lights, clean up the garbage dump, build new bus stops for the roads going to Southern Highlands, Jiwaka and Chimbu,” he said.