Time for PM to crack the whip

WITH the national budget session set for Tuesday, Prime Minister James Marape’s Government faces a choice between continuing the status quo or re-directing its focus on good governance and basically making sure the money allocated to all the fundamental areas is used as such.
Along with the expected announcement of more spending on law and order, education and health, there needs to be a greater emphasis, we think, on seeing to it that the money is properly spent.
There must be accountability and transparency with the use of these monies.
Why should there be an additional amount of scrutiny one might ask?
The reason is that for all the great announcements and budget speeches by treasurers past and present we are finding it hard to see exactly how a budget aimed at alleviating the plight of the rural population has actually succeeded.
There are more than 8 million Papua New Guineans who need to be catered for in the budget.
They need to know that what they are receiving is not just lip service.
Questions like: Are the people the getting much needed services like basic healthcare, effective and reliable law enforcement, improved and/or new infrastructure particularly roads?
Has their quality of life improved since the last budget or several budgets?
Are people still dying of preventable and curable diseases, if so why hasn’t the money put into health sector programmes made a difference?
There seems to be more questions on the effectiveness of budgets then to there are on what they are about.
It is time for the Marape Government to put the blinkers on and focus on strengthening the mechanisms of delivery and ferreting out the problem areas.
Every province wants more than what they are apportioned in the annual budget (when has that never been the case), there is always a shortfall in the projected areas of expenditure and what is actually coming into the provincial coffers but this should not be an excuse for the lack of development or even the regression in some part of the country.
What the government must insist on from all provinces and districts is a periodic report that states what the province has gained from the allocated funds.
The report should state clearly how funds have been used and what are the areas where there is still a need for improvement, and the plans to address these shortcomings.
Of course this must all be done within good time, preferably before the next budget is handed down.
With the government passing the task of enforcement to the provincial bodies the updating of accurate and reliable information often gets put on the back-burner for one reason or another.
This blasé attitude must stop if the national government through its allocations over the years wants to finally see progress.
In fact, we would go as far as to say that the reason budgets (since 1977) pointed at developing the rural population have failed is more to do with management and administration then to do with the size of the allocation.
So there it is, as plain as day for all to see, mismanagement, poor administrative practices, a lack of initiative, incompetence, greed and corruption have conspired to keep the majority from prospering and benefiting from the alleged riches of the country.
How do you solve this problem? One can opt to reform society with a gradual approach of education coupled with the occasional punitive action or there can be a business-like mentality where every cog in the machinery is held accountable for its actions or lack thereof – admittedly this would find out many provinces and government departments who seem to act with a sense of impunity and entitlement above and beyond that of a public servant.
In simple terms, Marape must therefore crack the whip and demand from all Members in Parliament (government or opposition), provincial governments and State departments a higher degree of professionalism and prudence when it comes to implementing policy.
That way we can at least believe some of the rhetoric that is launched into at every budget session.