Islands News
New Ireland Continues to Experience Funding Delays in Education
by Scott Waide – EM TV, Lae
New Ireland's Provincial Education Advisor has reiterated concerns over why government funding is not reaching the province when it is due.
Herman Poyasei is the latest of several senior provincial managers who are expressing similar calls made by the Provincial administrator in March.
Health services and other administrative functions have suffered because of the slow release of funding.
Today, at an Education Advisors meeting, he asked the Education Minister, Nick Kuman, why funds for New Ireland weren't being paid on time.
"We have not received funding for January to May," he said. "It's affecting us in a big way."
It may seem like a problem affecting New Ireland education alone, but Mr. Poyasei's concern is one that is shared by nearly all senior provincial managers in New Ireland.
In March, New Ireland's Acting Administrator, Andrew Kaiap, told EM TV News, the province still had not received its recurrent budgetary allocations for 2015.
The province is using internally generated revenue to meet the shortfalls. But for services like health and education, any shortfall or delay has a compounding effect on people's lives.
The Education Minister told the Lae conference this afternoon, the funding delays were occurring in Port Moresby but gave assurances that it will be investigated.
For New Ireland, they have to start preparing over the next three months for the 2016 budget even though money for 2015 has not yet arrived.
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