The former Minister of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening Program Commins Mewa has commended the Makira Ulawa Province for its efforts in delivering the Provincial Capacity Development Fund (PCDF) since 2008, especially the former regime and its hardworking officers.
He made the commendation in Kira Kira, the provincial capital while delivering the opening address February 17 of the current induction training of the 20 newly elected Members of the Makira Ulawa Provincial Assembly and senior officials.
An induction training team from the mother Ministry in Honiara has been running the 2-and-half week program.
Mr. Mewa who is now Minister of Education and Human Resources Development said the Ministry’s records indicate that the province has completed 64 different projects at the total cost of SBD32-million-dollars.
And he added, more than 37-thousand people in the province have directly benefitted from these projects, with more than 900 jobs being created especially in the construction industry for young people.
He said out of the 64 projects completed, 30 of them were in the social sector of health and education whose functions are not fully devolved to the Provinces, adding; “we could see clearly that these MUPG projects have begun to have impacts on our young people’s lives.
“I must encourage you to get well prepared for the next PCDF assessment as the Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement is serious about supporting service delivery through the PCDF mechanisms, as it is your only source for your development budget.
“As such, I encourage you to pay more attention to the processes and procedures involved in the assessment as they are aligned to the existing legislation and laws of the National Government,” he said.
Mr. Mewa pointed out that the Makira Ulawa Provincial Government has been doing well in infrastructure delivery through PCDF.
“I encourage you to continue to provide what is necessary to move the Province forward because for 2020/21, the Government has allocated 30-million dollars for PCDF for the nine provinces, and in addition to that, the Ministry would release the PCDF 6-million dollar savings in the Central Bank of Solomon Islands.
“This means there would be 36-million dollars available in 2020/21 for provincial budgeting,” Mr. Mewa said.
In the final analysis, Mr. Mewa said, for the participants, especially the assembly members and officials, the 18-days training would enable them to learn their Roles and Responsibilities, Public Expenditure Management Systems, Provincial Financial Management Ordinance, Financial Instructions, Procurement Procedures and Processes, Revenue Mobilizations, PCDF Processes and Procedures, Public Accounts Committee and Budget Analysis.
In conclusion, he said, whatever they would have learned in the training would enable them to undertake their future responsibilities as political leaders and senior administrators.
By George Atkin
In Kira Kira
