HOW PETER O'NIELL HAS CONTROL OVER ALL PARTY LEADERS

By PNGBLOGS Madang Correspondent

O'NEILL HAS CONTROL OVER ALL THESE CLOWNS
PRIME MINISTER PETER O'NEILL'S POWER PLAY AND INFLUENCE CONTROL OVER  LEADERS IN THE MAJOR COALITION PARTNERS AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT IS IN THE CORRUPTION OF PUBLIC FINANCES AND HAS MORE CONTROL OVER THEM.



The National Economic Fiscal Commission (NEFC) and all its stakeholder agencies held a conference in Madang to determined how the Development budget of K450 million has been disbursed since 2013. The 2013 development budget was considered to be a major shift with the structures and operations of the budget focusing on the rural areas, bringing what used to be a Waigani-controlled budget in the past to an
end.

Since 2013, the Development Budget has been converted to what is now known as PSIP, DSIP and LGSIP and controlled by the MPs and their JDP&BPCs and JPP&BPCs at all levels of government. It is the expectation of Government that people in the rural areas would know that they have money in their districts and provinces and that they have mandated the leaders to use the money to deliver tangible development services.

Now many Papua New Guineans have come to realize the irony of the whole shift with the structures and operations of the budget focusing on the rural areas where it has become far more corrupt and is now widespread since the last four quarters of 2013 disbursement of the PSIPs, DSIPs and LGSIPs were all released without proper acquittal reports.

The use of the current political JPP&BPC/JDP&BPC setups can be very devastating with the current functions and responsibilities of all the Joint Provincial Planning & Budget Priorities Committees and the Joint District Planning & Budget Priorities Committees in all the provinces and districts. The setting up of the JPP&BPC and the JD&BPC were late amended editions drafted a little later into the New Organic Law on Provincial & Local Level Governments as an oversight by the then Government who wanted their MPs to benefit from the Constitutional Development Grants (DSGs/PSGs) as an political incentive.

Apart from the constitutional grants (DSGs/PSGs), these PSIP, DSIP and LGSIP funds too are now controlled directly by the MPs and their JDP&BPCs and JPP&BPCs. It was revealed that almost 90% of PSIP, DSIP and LGSIP have never been fully acquitted after each quarter disbursements were expanded. Yet the DoF and ORD were directed by the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to freely disburse all the last six quarters of 2013/2014 regardless of acquittal reports submitted or not.

So far, all quarter disbursements to date have been delivered by Finance to all Government MPs regardless of acquittals submitted or not. The Opposition MPs however, have been made to suffer more as they were subject to strict compliance and acquittals which were unnecessary excuses causing delays.

Moreover, and even having set up the District/Provincial Supply & Tender Boards, all JPP&BPC/JDP&BPCs usually do NOT seek clearance or get sanctioned through the D/PS&TB thus defeating the purpose of the Public Service Financial Management Act. Hefty payouts are usually endorsed and approved by JPP&BPC/JDP&BPC meeting resolutions which Provincial and District Treasurers have in the past and continue to allow many huge DSIP payouts for their MPs projects.

Complying with the Public Service Financial Management Act is no longer a requirement by provincial, district and LLG authorities. The PIP planning procedures can be devastating when Ad hoc approaches are applied. These Ad hoc approaches not only become destructive for initiatives and for properly-planned rural development pathways, but are more likely to cause a complete misuse of public funds, uneven resource programming, disharmony and social disorder in service deliveries towards rural communities.

It is sad that these systems and mechanisms are manned by people (MPS & Public Servants) who are supposed to be serving the public but for many years have been allowed to get away with the misuse of public funds. The so called Ombudsman “WATCH DOG” has gone to sleep. And the last time the Watch Dog was awake and alert was when they issued directions in 2012 to freeze all public funds that are liable to be misused by political leaders during the general election.

Covered by the direction are funds held as provincial or district support grants, district services improvement programme, district education service improvement programme, district health service improvement programme, district water supply and sanitation improvement programme, district agriculture and community-based improvement programme, district communication and electrification improvement programme, district transport and community infrastructure improvement programme, provincial and district soil and administration infrastructure, provincial and district land and other physical infrastructure development, and provincial and district development of village and social services fund.

The Ombudsman Commission directed that all unused funds in these and other trust accounts for the fiscal years 2010, 2011 and 2012 be transferred to consolidated revenue.

The direction was to take effect immediately and covered Ministers for Treasury, Finance and Monitoring, Governors and Members of Parliament, Secretary for Finance, Secretary for National Planning and Monitoring, Director of the Office of Rural Development, all Provincial Administrators, all District Administrators and all banks where these funds are held including the Central Bank.

Any person found in breach of these directions will be liable for prosecution under the Leadership Code or under section 23 of the Constitution which attract sanctions of prison terms not exceeding 10 years or fines not exceeding K10,000.

The watchdog issued these stern warnings under section 27 (4) of the Constitution.

TAKE AWAY THE CONTROL OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY PARLIAMENTARIANS AND YOU
CONTROL ITS ABUSE AND MISAPPROPRIATION THAT IS STRIFE IN THE CONTEXT
AND PRETENCE OF RURL DEVELOPMENT

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