The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has presented its K255 million budget to Treasury for certification and approval.
ABG Treasury and Finance Minister, Robin Wilson, presented the budget to Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, Charles Abel, in Port Moresby today.
Wilson said the budget focuses on empowering the economic sector to boost the local economy.
The East New Britain Provincial Government also presented its provincial budget to Abel today.
ABG Treasury Minister, Wilson, said the ABG budget mainly focused on improving internal revenue collection through empowering the economic sector.
He said this is evident with a 30 percent allocation of the K255 million budget for the economic sector.
The social sector, which covers its priorities of health, education and law and order, aims to accompany this growth with a 40 percent allocation while the governance sector will receive the other 30 percent.
DPM Abel commended the budget, adding that economic growth was a key feature of the current Government.
He informed the ABG Government that while the Government will work towards financing the budget, they will maintain previous commitments which have not been fully funded.
They include restoration development grants, services improvement program (SIP) and special intervention fund (SIF).
The ABG Treasurer said they understood that the Government was experiencing a tightening of the economy and will work closely with them to ensure key areas in the budget are covered.
The approval and certification of the ABG budget is expected to take a week.