OUTGOING Member of Parliament for Temotu Nende, Patterson Oti has described the caretaker CNURA Government’s decision to pay out the entire Rural Constituency Development Fund (RCDF) for 2010 as improper and inappropriate.
He said the constituencies should only be paid $200,000 each for the period up to the dissolution of parliament on the 24th of April 2010 and this has already been met through the February tranche of the RCDF.
Mr Oti said what has not been paid is the equivalent portion of the Millennium and Micro Project Funds as instructed by the Ministry of Rural Development and Indigenous Business Affairs totalling $300,000.
He said these two other rural constituency funds are for projects and need not be paid through MPs but administered directly by the ministry.
Nevertheless, Mr Oti said they should not even be released without constituency project proposals which should have been submitted by the Constituency Development Officers (CDOs) and endorsed by the former MPs prior to dissolution of parliament on April 24.
Therefore Mr Oti said if the controversial $200,000 RCDF is going to be paid to constituencies, the most acceptable option is to fund constituency projects which have been submitted and are now with the ministry for funding.
He said this will avoid criticism of former MPs since this funding will not be paid through them, the spending of which will also be outside of their discretion.
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