Special projects team working on Supplementary Budget

TREASURY Minister Ian Ling-Stuckey told Parliament yesterday that a special projects team has been established and correct figures will be used in the 2019 Supplementary Budget.
He said being in the job for just three days, one of the first instructions he had issued was to establish a special projects team that comprised key staff of Treasury, National Planning and Finance and former public servants.
“We have established a special projects team that is holding its first meeting (yesterday).
“We are conducting a seven-day due diligence process to determine whether estimates or figures are correct, if not, we want to go and find out for ourselves,” he said.
“We are trying to use other staff that are independent as possible and advisers that exist within Treasury and we are going through those numbers as I speak.”
Ling-Stuckey said they were trying to reconcile the differences between the National Statistical Office (NSO) and Treasury.
“I’m confident and I’ve been advised that working through this weekend to Monday, we are going to get a fairly clear picture on which numbers we are going to use.
“My position is clear as the Treasurer; we will adopt the correct figures to be used in the Supplementary Budget. We will not use any other figures and those were clear instructions that I received from the Government especially through Prime Minister James Marape.
“Give me a little bit of time and I will be able to respond in time,” Ling-Stuckey said.