OPPOSITION: EL NINO FUNDS MUST MATCH DROUGHT SEVERITY

OPPOSITIONLeader James Nomane wants the government to scrap its flat-rate El Niño funding, saying relief money must be given out based on how severe the drought is in each region, rather than giving everyone the same amount.

In a statement, the Opposition leader argues that the National Executive Council’s decision to give ten-million Kina to every province and five-million Kina to every district is deeply unfair.

He pointed to the National Weather Service’s August bulletin, which places the National Capital District and Gulf Province under an “extreme” alert, while twelve other provinces are on “severe” watch.

Nomane says handing equal shares to areas facing different levels of threat is a “press release, not a plan.”

With the Supplementary Budget expected to be handed down today, the opposition is urging the government to bypass Waigani trust accounts and transfer the 300 million Kina in relief funds directly to provincial and district disaster accounts.