Where did the money come from?

FOR recipients of large cash sums, the above question is moot. They are blinded by the cash and all it promises. It does not matter a wit to them if it were proceeds of crime.
We raise the question because the large cash sums and goods such as vehicles and banana boats being handed out by politicians like the realisation of the “cargo cult” dreams of yester-years might well be the proceed of crime.

Applying public money for purposes it was not intended for is misapplication or abuse and, therefore, a crime.
Even if the money were given for a constructive purpose, for instance the donation of a vehicle for police work in a district, it is still a fraud if the money were intended for something else.
All public money is budgeted for each year. There are strict guidelines for use of public money whether they be allocated to departments or for programs.

To transfer money from one vote to another without the proper authorisation is illegal.
It is important therefore that each time a politician announces some public handout he or she must at the same time reveal to the public the source of the funds.

Take the most recent distribution of K300,000 by Speaker Jeffery Nape in his electorate over the Independence weekend or Daulo MP Patrick Kondo’s offer of a new vehicle for Asaro police.
They, and every other leader, have a duty to reveal to the public the source of the funds.

Even the K10 million District Services Improvement Programme fund has guidelines on its use which ought to be strictly adhered to but one wonders whether anybody bothers with them.
The DSIP is to be distributed in the following manner under the guidelines:
lK1 million for education, of which 3% (or K30,000) is to be for administration purposes and K970,000 for education programmes;

Hlealth gets K1 million and distributes in the same manner; Law and justice gets K1 million; water supply and sanitation K1 million; agriculture and community-based programmes K1 million; rural communication and electrification K1 million; and K4 million for transport and community infrastructure.

These guidelines are as loose as you can get because one could get any number of programmes and classify them under any of these categories and nobody would be any the wiser, least of all any auditor.
Still, none of the above guidelines qualify one to go out on a cash handout binge which many of our politicians are prone to do.

The DSIP funds are to be released in the following manner. The Bank of PNG releases the funds to the Bank South Pacific. BSP is then required to write 89 cheques (for the 89 open electorates) and delivers them to the Department of Finance to forward to open MPs.

Open MPs then deposit the cheques into their respective DSIP trust accounts back at the BSP.
The Public Accounts Committee was at a loss when investigating the 2009 disbursement of the fund, to understand why this cumbersome system has been adopted when the BSP can simply pay the cheques straight into the trust funds and provide statements for verification to the Finance Department.

This is not the only source of funds available to MPs. Funds allocated under the National Agricultural Development Programme – K200 million annually – is normally collected in cheque form by MPs as are funds allocated for education (RESI) funds and law, order and justice funds.

Funds from one programme should not be transferred for another purpose or given out in cash. Most normal guidelines call for the funds to be kept in district treasuries or in trust funds and payments made direct to companies upon presentation of invoices for goods delivered and services rendered.

If the government is serious about getting rid of corruption, the most obvious place to start is to ensure that members of Parliament abide by the dictates of the Public Finances Management Act and the regulations and guidelines governing use of money under each vote.
Corruption is not just about downright stealing of applying public money for self but also about not keeping to the dictates of the law

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