THE Democratic Coalition for Change (DCC) Government’s four year budget will cost $20 billion, according to its published policy strategy handbook released during their launch on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare highlighted in his government’s policy statement that his government is determined to bring about positive changes.
Mr Sogavare said these changes will come about through their reform programmes as outlined in their handbook.
“The DCC government is confident to drive its policies with good and honest leadership…will take a whole of government approach so that priority government policies can be achieved through respective cluster groups,” Mr Sogavare said in his forward statement.
He added the Government will seek to grow the economy through creating investment opportunities in manufacturing and industry development.
According to the government’s four year policy strategy, Infrastructure Development will get the biggest potion of the budget with a total budget of $7.2 billion.
Of that $5 billion will go towards the construction of the 100 kilometers of dirt road and 50 kilometers of tar sealed roads per year.
Rehabilitation and development of rural infrastructures and utilities will cost $861.7 million followed with road maintenance works which will cost $684 million to add to the three highest costs to the Infrastructure development budget.
Second on DCCG’s budget list is Education and Human Resources Development sector with a total budget of $2 billion.
A total of $818.4 million of the budget will go towards the rehabilitation and construction of new educational infrastructures from TVET, secondary, primary, ECE, New MEHRD new office plus other policy development.
Solomon Islands National University (SINU) development will get the second largest share of the budget with a total cost of $400 million.
The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) 4th Campus at Doma gets the third biggest share with a total of $200 million amongst the highest budget costs for education.
The government’s third largest budget will go to the health and medical Services sector with a total budget of $1.7 billion.
The health’s infrastructure development to build, upgrade and rehabilitate the sectors facilities needs make up for the biggest budget cost of $950 million.
The relocation of the National Referral Hospital (NRH) and building of a new hospital will foot the second largest cost of the budget with a total of $500 million.
Improvement of clinical services nationwide will get the third largest share of the budget at cost of $150 million.
Basically to support and equip medical professional to perform their respective vocations to put into practice their professional and technical skills.
Meanwhile rest of the list of DCC government’s fundamental and sectorial reform programmes’ budget according to their total budgets are as follows;
-Agriculture and Livestock $1.5 billion
-Aquaculture Fisheries and Marine Resources $1.1 billion
-Rural Development sector $1 billion
-Fundamental Reform Programmes(Good Governance: LCC and Ombudsman Office) $990 million
-Home Finance $679.2 million
-Tourism Development $575.7 million
-Economic Finance $438 million
-Forestry and Reforestation $406.3 million
-Police National Security and Correctional Services $344.2 million
-Public Service $280.4 million
-Lands, Housing and Survey $253 million
-Environment, Climate Change Disaster Management and Meteorology $196 million
-National Unity Reconciliation and Peace $188 million
-Justice and Legal Affairs $174 million
-Civil Aviation and Telecommunication $156 million
-Women Youth and Social Development $139.2 million
-Mines and Energy $137 million
-Foreign Affairs and External Trade $101.3 million
-Provincial Government $88 million
-Development Planning and Aid Coordination $15 million
The budget will be partly funded under the government’s fiscal budget and foreign aid.
By DANIEL NAMOSUAIA
