Government reports show constituencies received $3 billion in RCDF grants from 2015-2022
THE nation’s 50 Constituencies were paid Rural Constituency Development Fund (RCDF) grants of almost $3 billion over the past eight years, new government reports have revealed.
Former Permanent Secretary, George Kosui posted details of the funding grants on social media this week.
These reports cover Audit Report for years 2009 to 2012 and Evaluation Report for 2015 to 2018. Total RCDF grants paid through Members of Parliament from 2015 to this year – a period of eight years – show total payments to be $2.258 billion.
This means that each Constituency received some $45.16 million in that eight-year period.
The source for these figures is the Solomon Islands Government Budget and Reports as shown in the table below:
The figures also show 2018 to be the lean financial year when the 50 Constituencies shared only $170 million or $3.4 million per Constituency.
The figures also show that 2016 was a bumper year. Each Constituency received $7 million in RCDF grants funding – the highest amount since the RCDF grants were introduced several years earlier.
Not to be outdone, this year is shaping up to be a good year for Constituency funding. To date – just seven months into the year – and MPs have already shared $261 million in RCDF grants funding or $5.22 million for each Constituency.
What they will get in the end will be anybody’s guess.
By Alfred Sasako
