EAST Sepik Governor Allen Bird says East Sepik Provincial Government has not been receiving specific funding for provincial roads since he became Governor.
He made this remark in response to a call made by Minister for International Trade and Investment and Member for Yanguru-Sausia, Hon. Richard Maru, concerning the upkeep of provincial roads in East Sepik Province.
In a media conference yesterday, Minister Maru called on Governor Bird to start fixing the provincial roads that are deteriorating due to prolonged rainy season over the past five months.
“They (Governor and his provincial administration) have done nothing to maintain all our roads for one whole year,” Maru said.
“No maintenance, no contracts out, nothing and our people are now starting to walk.
“This is totally unacceptable,” the Yanguru-Sausia MP said.
He urged Governor Bird not to keep boasting about internal revenue made from high cocoa prices, and start looking into fixing the roads for the cocoa farmers to bring in more provincial revenue.
While acknowledging Maru’s call, Governor Bird highlighted funding constraints that the provincial government has been facing over the years to maintain the provincial roads on timely basis.
“He (Maru) is aware that since I became Governor, we receive no specific funding for provincial roads,” Bird said.
“We do receive around K19 million a year for infrastructure grants and we allocate that equally to all our 28 Local Level Governments (LLGs) for maintenance of all LLG infrastructure.
“East Sepik has around 5, 000km of road networks, obviously, its not possible to spread the money that far,” the Governor said.
“This is one of the reasons why I have called for a block grant for all provinces to address this, including many other constraints faced by provinces and East Sepik in particular.
“Unfortunately, no Minister or Open MP is interested in pursuing block grants.
“Alternatively, we have to grow our internal revenue to around K100 million a year to be able to afford to do that work.
“While our internal revenue has grown considerably in the past 6 years, it will take another 10 years for us to raise our internal revenue to the level we need.
“So, this effort could bear fruit under a new governor in the near future.
“This year we had to allocate K10.2 million to relocate the bridge for Boram Airport Extension because national government could not pay it.
“This K10 million I had wanted to use for provincial roads, but if we don’t relocate the bridge, NAC cannot access funding for the runway extension.
“So, we chose to prioritize Boram Airport over provincial roads.
“We also had to spend money on the seawall and raise the Mobile to Post Office Road after the sea washed the road away.
“We also sealed the road from the airport to Brandi, in fact this is money we could have spent on provincial roads.
“At the end of the year, during our Budget Consultation for 2025, I will be inviting all those who intend to contest the Provincial Seat to observe and ask questions.
“This is because it is important to prepare my potential replacement well.
“They need to understand why we are doing things the way we are.
“Should they get the job, it will be entirely up to them to either maintain course or pick a new path.
“This problem of limited funding and huge needs is not mine alone, it is for all of us.
“It is something I struggled with the day I got into the job.
“I have been getting the public servants focused on fixing it ever since.
“While we have made progress, we are still very far away from the solution.
“One thing I assure all our people is this, while I inherited a province with no cash in the bank, huge outstanding liabilities and K5 million in annual internal revenue.
“When I leave the job, there will be zero liabilities, healthy cash in the bank and a very healthy internal revenue.
“My replacement will be in a much better place than I was in,” said Governor Bird.
