One Hundred and sixty-two council wards in Oro Province will receive direct funding from the Provincial Government under the Provincial Services Improvement Program (PSIP) for this year.
Governor Gary Juffa made this announcement at a Provincial Executive Council (PEC) meeting recently in Port Moresby.
Governor Gary Juffa and his executive government through the Oro Joint Provincial Planning and Budget Priority Committee (JPP & BPC) has allocated a total of K2, 620,000 (K2.62 million) for all LLGs and Wards to support their development aspirations.
All 162 Wards and the 9 LLGs will get direct funding under the PSIP unlike before.
Juffa said there has been concerns raised about the state of affairs in the system of decentralization that the PNG government now has under the current Organic Law on Provincial and
Local-level Governments – and essentially that under this system, delivery of basic government services such as health, education, transportation, communication, etc., have not reached the people.
He said it has now been 25 years since the implementation of the 1995 reforms, however, the anticipated outcomes have not been realized anywhere in the country.
"The 1995 OLPLLG should be revisited and provisions made to remedy these difficulties by strengthening the LLGs’ legal position to make them more effective, and this will include strengthening needs to include funding structures, power relations with the district administrations, and measures to ensure these personnel are accountable to LLGs," he said.
Governor Juffa said if development strategies are to be implemented effectively, LLGs must cease to be ‘rubber stamps’ and instead become actual implementers of national and local development agendas.
Juffa said of the total funds allocated, K1.62 million would be annually allocated to directly fund all the 162 Ward Development Committees (WDC) at a sum of K10,000.00 per Ward, while the 9 LLGs through their Presidents will be allocated a sum of K100,000.00 in both Ijivitari and Sohe Districts.
Oro Province has 9 LLGs, with 162 Wards whereby Ijivitari District has 88 Wards while Sohe District has 74 Wards.
“I am looking at a gradual increase from K10,000 per Ward per year to K20,000 per
"Ward and thereon with support from the Internal Revenue,” he said.
Governor Juffa stated that this funding arrangement will continue in 2021 and 2022 and onwards to support the Wards and LLGs in Oro in their development aspirations to support the spirit of the local-level government reforms undertaken in Papua New Guinea since 1995.
The Northern Governor has tasked his acting Provincial Administrator, Mr. Trevor Magei to look into increasing Internal Revenue through various strategies to support the PSIP in funding Wards and LLGs in the years to come.
Meanwhile acting Provincial Administrator, Trevor Magei has confirmed that all the nine LLG Presidents have been allocated a funding of the first K50,000 each through their LLG accounts with K450,000 released under COVID – 19 arrangements as support from the Oro Provincial Government with another K50,000.00 will be released upon the acquittals of the initial K50,000.
Governor Juffa also thanked the Government of Prime Minister James Marape on the timely release of PSIP funds to assist his LLGs and Wards.