By
MATTHEW VARI
THE Enga Provincial Government has passed a K313 million budget for the province in 2015.
Governor for Enga, Peter Ipatas, yesterday informed the media of the provinces budgetary priorities for the year, with a high focus still maintained in the education sector.
A total of K312,771,000- K10 million less than its budget in 2014 of K323,497,800, the budget consists of a K194.8 million from the National Government and K170,886,700 from internal revenue collected.
Governor Ipatas thanked the national government for its interventional policies in the, improvement grants, education, health, and law and order sectors in the province through free education, free health care, and the inclusion of village court magistrates and councilors, which he said would soon be considered to the government payroll.
“What we don’t see is the economic impacts such policies will have in reaching right down to the people in the villages,” Ipatas said.
“It is vital that these policies are maintained so that we keep many of our people from the provinces from heading to urban areas causing the urban drift situation currently experienced.”
Ipatas thanked the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill for his vision and pointed out that the province had nominated three major projects in the year.
“Like all provincial governments and districts we have nominated three major projects, which we have signed with the National Government to pursue,” Mr Ipatas said.
“The projects are the Enga Provincial Hospital as the number one project to be delivered in this term of parliament, we also want to deliver the Enga Technical College which NEC has approved to be converted to a polytechnic institute, and of course the ongoing Enga Teachers College.”
“Those are the tree impact projects that the provincial government has nominated to complete.”
He said a total of K80 million has been allocated to the hospital, with the national government allocating K20 million with K60 million from donors for the project to be implemented this year.
Total funding to fully complete the new hospital will be sourced from the Chinese EXIM Bank.
The governor added that with the national government taking over the education aspect of its funding- other projects like Institute of Business Studies and the a campus for the University of Papua New Guinea science foundation programs could be invested in and offered in the coming years.
Health and roads infrastructure have also had funding diverted in to improving district hospitals and the upgrading and reconstruction of roads in Wabag town.
“It is vital we as a province continue to invest heavily in education, but I am so thankful to the government and its policies, which have freed us up to achieve even more in our health system and facilities around the country which we will do in the year.”
He added that the specifics of projects and achievements of the provincial government would be presented at the upcoming leaders’ summit.
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