I made this statement this afternoon.
Acopy of the Year-to-Date Warrants and Appropriations dated 24th June 2024 details the enormity of the
disrespect Marape has for the Budget law and process.
The ‘typing error’ as it was described by James Marape, that led to K20m belonging to the people of Gulf being instead directed to Enga Province, is not a one off. The Finance report is awash with such ‘typing errors’ or ‘glitches’ all pointing to extreme manipulation of the Budget to secure political power.
Marape has made himself and some of his cronies’ big winners, but even more of our people are big losers in the Marape Method of Budget Mismanagement.
Halfway through the 2024 Budget year, let us look at what is really going on.
THE BIG WINNERS
PM & NEC Budget - 2024 Budget approval for K30m. Warrants issued YTD (June 24th, 2024) K61.8m
K31.8m directed to the PM & NEC over and above what was passed into law.
While funding of medicines YTD is less than 30%, Marape has funded himself 106% of approved PM & NEC 2024 Budget.
Department of Works
K1.137 billion allocated in the Budget. K567.5m warrants issued YTD (June 2024)
Included in DoW, is the 2024 Connect PNG Budget is K800m of which K500m has been warranted.
Outside of Connect PNG, there are a further 42 Road projects allocated K337m in the 2024 Budget.
25 of these DoW (non-Connect PNG) projects have received no funding at all in 2024.
These projects include:
Sepik Highway; New Britain Highway; Kandrian-Kimbe Highway; Gulf-SHP Missing Link; Togoba Junction – Tari Missing Highlands Highway; Watarais to Madang Highway; Wewak to Vanimo; Laloki
Bridge Upgrade; Ialibu-Tambul Road; Maprik – Lumi Road; Imilhoma-Honda Biako Road; Chuave- Ungai-Goroka Road; Enga-Sepik Highway; Afore-Safia-Kupiano Road; Banz to Jimi Road; Goldie Barracks Road; Goroka 4 Lane Hwy; Ibiya to Yebi Road; Kundiawa to Gembogl Missing Link; Moem Barracks Road; Park Site Road; Ramu Bridge; Hela to Western Highway; Karamui Missing Link Road, and Lumi Amanap Road.
In 2021, to circumvent the normal Budget process, the Marape government passed the ConnectPNG law allowing for a single Budget line for Connect PNG without any detail required to be presented to parliament on the projects to be funded.
Connect PNG is being used as a slush bucket to rapidly dispense funds when the political need arises without the checks; balances and transparency required by the normal Budget processes.
The long list of unfunded or partly funded projects in the Budget are languishing while the priority is on ConnectPNG over all other Department of Works projects.
Credit Guarantee Corporation.
2024 Budget approved of K3m. Warrants of K53m have been allocated.
K50m has been warranted over the Budget. It is unclear what guarantees have been provided and to who.
THE BIG LOSERS
The Losers in the Weaponization of the Budget are our Students, Young People, Families, Farmers, Police Officers; Soldiers; Prisoners and their Guards; Teachers and the Justice System.
- The Public Prosecutor has had 80% of their Budget unfunded, existing on only K400,000 so far this year.
- The Attorney General has had only K3m of their K10m funded YTD.
- Corrective Services Budget of K32m but only received K2.5m. Prisoners and their wardens being starved for the sake of Marape’s political agenda.
- Special Police Assistance Program Budget K200m unfunded by K190m.When law and order is at its worst in PNG’s history, in the first six months, Police were warranted only K10m.
- Defence
special programs (Air Capability, Defence Infrastructure, Four border posts, Nation Building Program; Murray Barracks Officers Mess). K37m budget allocation passed into law. Warrants issued YTD (June 24th, 2024) K3m, K34m unfunded YTD.
- Education – special programs (inc. teacher & curriculum development, STEM etc) K28m budget allocation passed into law. Warrants issued K6.5m YTD. Our students and teachers grossly unfunded YTD by K21.5m
- Higher Education
K103m budget allocation passed into law. Warrants issued K38.8m YTD.
Unfunded amount YTD K64.2m. Half the year gone and only 37% funded for our young people
- Universities and Maritime College.
K44m has been allocated in the Budget. K7.3m has been warranted. Unfunded remains K36.7 million. Universities and the Maritime College are the engine rooms of our next generation and remain gravely unfunded.
- Department of Health.
K294m budget allocation passed into law. Warrants issued K81m YTD. Half the year gone and only 27% of the budget funded. No funding at all for key health initiatives (i) Construction and rehabilitation of Provincial Medical Stores (ii) CHW Training Centre rehabilitation. A massive K213m unfunded YTD as at 24th June 2024.
- Agriculture.
National Agriculture Development Program received only K2m of K20m budget. National Freight subsidy received only K1m of K10m budget allocation.
Total Agriculture Budget passed into law K45m. Only K5.7m warranted. K39.3m unfunded.
- Kokonas Industry Corporation.
K31 million approved in the Budget. K7m allocated in warrants. K24m unfunded
- Cocoa Board; Livestock Development Corporation; Coffee Industry Corporation; NARI; PNG Oil palm; Fresh Produce Agency.
Total of K173m approved in the Budget. K19m warrants issued. Critical farming sector promised attention but so far unfunded by K154m YTD.
- Commerce and Industry. SME Funding for Agriculture – allocated K200m in Budget. Has received K20m funding YTD June 2024. Farmers promised K200m and to date have only received K20m. K180m unfunded
The Special Case of the Census Budget and Allocations
To conduct the long overdue and important population count, K100m was approved in the 2024 Budget.
Warrants totalling K150m have been issued YTD – K50m over Budget without approval. However, to date, only K24.4m has been funded despite the K150m warrants issued.
Is Marape deliberately setting the Census and his Minister up to fail and look foolish? Promising K150m and delivering only K24.4m. Census workers remain unpaid, the Census in a shambles.
Summary:
There is a long list of losers - the students and young people; the sick; the Police and Justice system; farmers and Small Businesses.
The losers are the Ministers and MPs who have been led to believe they will be able to
oversee programs that will generate positive change. Instead, these elected leaders are let down and made to look foolish at the hands of James Marape.
The winners are a much smaller list - the PMs own Department and Connect PNG.
Despite the Take Back PNG, Richest Black Nation mantra, on the ground the picture is very different with those Marape promises most - missing out the most on funding from the Budget.
It is illegal to have the Budget approved in Parliament and then spend it differently. Fixing up the gross mismanagement retrospectively by passing a Supplementary Budget is not making the already illegal actions legal.
It must be terrible being a senior, experienced public servant and being instructed to swap money from one
project to another or provide funding for wasteful projects without Budget over genuine and approved Budget areas such as health and education.
Marape is using the bureaucrats to run around after him like boskru.
The practice under the Marape government is to say one thing and do another.
This might be simple politics
to Marape but the impacts of this forked tongue approach to the Budget are having a devastating impact on our people and businesses. It must stop before our country is completely ruined.
Time for a big shakeup before it is too late.
PO.
#WokMasGoYet
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