Poll yes, but no allowances for Motu-Koita members

THE Motu-Koita Assembly elections will proceed as scheduled this year but current members will not be paid any allowance.
According to a statement from the assembly, this is the predicament faced by the 16 elected members of the assembly as they await the issuing of writs this month and the end of their term as assembly members, despite the deferred LLG elections to April.
The Government allowed the Motu-Koitabu elections to proceed as scheduled this year “because they are special arrangement,” established by a separate Act of Parliament, passed in 2007.
“But why regard us as special all of a sudden?” said acting chairman of the assembly Opao Udia. “Motu-Koitabu or the Act has never been any special consideration by the government since 2007 and to this day most of the requirements have not been considered to the benefit of the people through the assembly,” Udia said.
After the enactment of the Motu-Koita Assembly Act 2007, the interim assembly made a submission to the Salaries and Remuneration Committee (SRC) for approval of proposed allowances of the chairman and members of the assembly. “To date, that submission is yet to be deliberated on,” Udia said.
“Additionally, the national government over the past decade, has pumped in billions of kina in development funds across all tiers of government in the country. But not one single toea came to the Motu-Koita Assembly. Furthermore, Section 38 (b) of the Motu-Koita Assembly Act requires the national government to pay a certain percentage of receipts from the airport taxes, harbour fees and state land lease rentals in forms of grants.
“That has never happened despite the fact that the Motu-Koita Assembly has been existing for the last 11 years. The national government created the Motu-Koita Assembly and then abandoned it to fend for itself.”
Udia said the intended benefits of the Act to enable the assembly financial and administrative autonomy and to empower its people for sustainability in the city, have not been seen by the Motu and Koitabu people and the assembly.
“How can the government be calling Motu-Koitabu a special case when the provisions in the Act to make it a unique setup is hardly recognised and the requirements of the Act not entertained at all to this day?”