Sports minister hands in acquittals
The National, Thursday February 12th, 2015
Minister for Sports and 2015 Pacific Games Justin Tkatchenko has presented the 2014 Pacific Games acquittal to Finance Minister James Marape at Parliament House yesterday.
Tkatchenko acquitted the use of K100 million that was allocated to the 2015 Pacific Games Authority for the support of building sporting infrastructure and the rehabilitation of sporting venues around Port Moresby for the Games in July.
He said it was important that all funds given by the government were acquitted properly and in a professional manner.
The State has spent over K1 billion on building sporting infrastructure for the 2015 Pacific Games.
He said the construction of venues was only the beginning of a sporting revolution in the country.
Tkatchenko said there was a monthly report provided to the Government and all the stakeholders by the Venues, Infrastructure and Equipment Committee (VIEC).
“The brand new infrastructure is for the future. It is for the long term,” he said.
Marape commended Tkatchenko, the VIEC and their team for working to deliver the Games in a timely manner.
“We earmarked K1.2 billion on expenditure to build the stadiums that will leave a legacy behind,” he said.
He admitted there were delays in some areas but he was confident that the sports infrastructure would be ready on time for the official opening on July 4.
The July 4-18 event in Port Moresby has attracted 22 countries from the region to compete in 28 sports.
Marape said K80 million per month was spent on contractors working on building and rehabilitating sports venues around the city for the Games.
He classified the Pacific Games as an economic event.
“There will be a lot of business activities going to take place during the two-week event and the Government is committed to supporting the Pacific Games.
“A lot of time has been wasted but PNG has been catching up fast with a lot of changes in terms of construction of new sporting venues, accommodation and the rehabilitation of sporting codes in Port Moresby city.