Sikani upset with CS allocation

CORRECTIONAL Services (CS) Commissioner Richard Sikani was not a very happy man yesterday when the 2010 Budget was handed down.
CS was allocated K22.3 million in next year’s recurrent budget.
Mr Sikani was particularly concerned that the allocated funding would not be enough to settle outstanding goods and services debts, staff and prisoners uniforms and, most importantly, the retirement payment and repatriation of ageing workers in CS.
“The CS is an ageing workforce and immediate recruitment of young Papua New Guineans is a priority,” he said.
Mr Sikani made his response yesterday following Treasury Department’s announcement of the 2010 National Budget during Press Lock-up at National Parliament, Port Moresby.
He said CS initial submission for next year’s budget appropriation was K76.9 million.
To payout ageing officers’ entitlements and repatriation to their villages and provinces, CS needed K5 million alone for this exercise.
“With the allocation of only K2.3 million in the 2010 Budget to CS to carry out its retirement of ageing personnel and recruiting young officers is not going to solve the problem CS is facing as an ongoing dilemma,” he said.
He said CS had several projects to implement under its 10-15 year development plan for demolition and reconstruction of prisons built during colonial days in 1950s, 1960 and 1970s.
CS rural lock-up rollout programme got K10 million allocated for the program next year to implement the district services improvement plan (DSIP) under the Millennium Term Development Strategy (MTDS).
Mr Sikani said the major infrastructure work for CS next year was the Baisu prison in Western Highlands province which would cost an estimated K80 million.
It was allocated K10 million for the work which was to be done in six stages.