GOVERNMENT WEAPONIZING BUDGET|ONEIL
By Sandra ULG
FORMER Prime Minister and member for Ialibu/Pangia Peter O’Niell says the Marape/Rosso government has weaponized the budget.
O’Niell who was joined by the Deputy Opposition Leader James Nomane said this during the Nasfund FM100 Talkback Show this morning.
The Former Prime Minister points out that the appropriation bills that were passed in Parliament have been put aside. And the government has been doing selective warranting, and as a result, many members of the opposition have not received funds for their districts.
O’Niell says these are funds that are bringing basic services to some of the remotest districts in the country. But because of politics and the desire to hold on to power, Prime Minister James Marape has been personally doing selective warranting with the Treasurer, and only paying people and districts that are supporting him in Parliament.
He says as a result, for the first time in the history of the country, the government funds have been politicized.
He adds that this is unprecedented, and if this continues to happen there will be a serious cash flow crisis in the future.
O’Niell says Budgets that have been passed by Parliament have become just a document that cannot be respected anymore.
