As the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening continues to serialize the Provincial Capacity Development Fund projects delivered by individual provinces from 2008/9 to 2017/18, this week, we focus on efforts made by Makira Ulawa province. The MUPG has delivered 90 projects (at a cost of SBD26, 543, 752) that are completed and handed over and being used by beneficiaries, whilst 23 (at SBD8, 386, 862) more are initiated for 2018/19 making a total of 113 projects through PCDF funding. In doing this, the province created more than 1, 253 jobs in various project sites and also strengthened the local companies bidding and delivering constracts.

Records in the tables show education and medical sectors totalled to 26 projects at a total cost of SBD9.9m for completed projects. If ongoing projects are considered, the two sectors benefitted from 35 projects at SBD15m. This is a deliberate strategy of the provincial government of Makira Ulawa to ensure the necessary infrastructures exist for greater access to health and education by the people of Makira Ulawa province. The existence of good schools and health centres are also sources of attraction for qualified teachers, nurses, doctors and officers to serve in the province. Before officers and professionals accept posting to any location, they have to be assured that their children will attend good schools and that the family will have access to better health facilities. If the PCDF funding continues to increase, the chances are that attracting qualified officers and professionals to serve in provinces like Makira would be much easier. This also explains why 16 projects are delivered in the administration sector over the years.

Of the total cost being indicated herein, the province contributed about 10% of the cost as part of the provincial co-funding requirement for the period being reported. This gives the province an ownership of the projects.

The province has never missed PCDF since it started in 2008. The politicians and officers in the MUPG have been working hard all these years to guarantee the qualification of the province so as to access the much needed capital development fund to deliver infrastructures in their respective province. The provincial members and officers have been proactive in all the trainings organised by the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening in public expenditure management systems and good governance through its PGSP programme based in the MPGIS. The induction trainings offered by the governance division has also been very helpful.

Records indicate that continuous capacity building of officers and politicians by following the public expenditure management cycle is gradually paying dividend as improvements are being made in the ability of officers to plan, procure and implement complex projects. The capacity of politicians to preside over provincial plans, budgets and scrutinising spending has modestly improved. The audit reports are modestly improving and the queries from the audit office on provincial transactions are reducing.

The Ministry is recruiting nine engineers, quantity surveyors and architects (one for each province) who would be supporting provinces to improve delivery of the numerous infrastructure projects that are being designed and approved by the provincial assemblies. Photos of some of the projects are published with this report as evidence of what has been delivered. Further verifications of projects delivered or in the pipeline can be made through the provincial office in Kira kira.

It is important to reiterate that since the end of PGSP phase I, the SIG has been the only contributor to the capital development fund of provinces (PCDF). The amount went up to SDB50m per annum but reduced to SBD10m this year because of budgetary constraints. Provinces hope that the new budget of 2019 would see massive increase in PCDF for provinces to deliver more projects to support service delivery of all sectors operating in the nine provinces. In phase I of PGSP, European Union, UNDP, UNCDF and RAMSI supported the efforts of SIG in capacity building and PCDF.