Pariwa clarifies misunderstanding on scholarship program

MADANG Governor Ramsey Pariwa has responded to two news articles published in the Post Courier on Wednesday, June 28 and Thursday, June 29, clarifying the misunderstanding regarding the funding for the Sir Peter Barter Tertiary Student Scholarship.
Governor Pariwa explained that the Provincial Administration misinterpreted the nature of the funding.
Governor Pariwa said on December 22 last year, the Provincial Government, under his leadership, launched the scholarship program as a significant policy initiative to support the education of Madang tertiary students. During the launch, a royalty payment of K3.9 million from Ramu Nico Management (MCC) was presented to the Madang Provincial Government in front of the people of Madang at Bates Oval.
He clarified that due to the crash of the Information Financial Management System (IFMS) in 2021, the funds were deposited into the COVID-19 trust account.
“The IFMS was a digitized system so when it crashed, the Provincial Government and Administration were using the COVID-19 trust account as it was manual,” Pariwa said.
Governor Pariwa explained that the K3.9 million royalty from MCC was utilized to fund the school fees of Madang Tertiary Students studying in various institutions across the country, provided they met the scholarship requirements.
He said that this year (2023) serves as a trial year for the program, allowing for identification of challenges and improvements for future implementation.
“We had to start somewhere and put the scholarship program to the test to see its challenges so we can improve in the coming years,” Pariwa said.
He added that the purpose of the program was to engage the youth in education and deter them from involvement in criminal activities, thus providing them with a better future.
“The Provincial Executive Council and the Assembly under my leadership had approved K10 million for the program in this year’s (2023) budget, the first batch of the money was released however the second batch is yet to be released,” he said
He said while the first batch of funds has been released, the second batch is currently pending release to tertiary institutions due to financial blunder created by the Provincial Administrator, Mr. Frank Lau.
Pariwa issued directives to the Provincial Administration staff to work closely with the Provincial Financial manager to rectify the financial issues and ensure the timely release of the second batch of funds for the scholarship program.
He clarified that as Governor, he does not report to the Provincial Administrator, but rather, the Provincial Administrator reports to him.
“I also would like to put on record to the Provincial Administrator that I do not report to him but he reports to me as Governor of the Province, the media statement on page 9 Post Courier on 28th June was misleading and he is asking for reports on the scholarship program. I sent written notices to the Provincial Administrator last year, when I got elected as Governor, for him to furnish Financial Reports and other reports but to date, I have yet to receive those reports,” he added.
Governor Pariwa expressed his commitment to resolving the financial challenges and assured parents and Madang students studying in various institutions that his government is fully dedicated to settling their fees.
He further pledged to enhance and expand the scholarship program in the future.
Governor Pariwa also urged all tertiary institutes to allow Madang students who have been funded under this program to continue their studies, assuring them that the Provincial Government will settle the outstanding balance of their fees as soon as the necessary accounts are opened.