Mapping framework set up to eradicate poverty

from the Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: A comprehensive Poverty Mapping framework will be established to eradicate poverty in the State, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman said Tuesday.

He said the National Statistics Department Sabah branch and the State Federal Development Department (JPPS) were currently conducting a census to collect data throughout Sabah for the framework.

The Poverty Mapping framework for Sabah was tabled by the Federal Chief Secretary on Monday (April 7) and Musa had requested that everyone co-operates with the efforts.

Speaking to reporters after chairing the State Action Council meeting at Wisma Innoprise, here, Musa said the focus group for the State level poverty eradication programme implementation co-ordinator machinery had been set up, chaired by the State Secretary, with the first meeting held on April 1.

"In this respect, I urge the focus group whether at the State or district level to play its role to co-ordinate the implementation of policies, planning of poverty eradication strategies and programmes for the target group as well as in providing their profiles and information," he said.

According to him, it was also proposed that the Sabah Rural Development Ministry and the State Economic Planning Unit become the secretariat for the people's prosperity development scheme steering committee (SPKR), to be chaired by the Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, the SPKR technical committee that was chaired by Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan would be replaced with the focus group for the State level poverty eradication programme implementation co-ordinator machinery.

The JPPS would be the secretariat, he said.

He was confident that all these steps would allow the issue of poverty in Sabah to be further scrutinised and handled more effectively.

Earlier, Musa, who is also Finance Minister, said Sabah had spent RM7.987 billion or 43.86 per cent of development allocation from 2006 up Dec 31 last year.

He said based on the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) development allocation ceiling performance, Sabah had spent in 2006 RM3.85 billion or 87.37 per cent of the RM4.407 billion while last year RM3.988 billion or 80.74 per cent had been spent from the allocated RM4.9939 billion.

Musa said that up to March 31 this year, the allocation ceiling for Sabah was RM20.187 billion comprising RM18.461 billion for development and RM1.725 billion for private funding initiative (PFI).

He was satisfied to note all the development projects in Sabah were progressing smoothly except for the construction of the Intan building at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park.

The project was supposed to be completed by February this year but due to some problems on the part of the contractor, it was now re-scheduled for completion in September.

He said the contractor had been requested to be responsible and that the JPPS was also monitoring the situation.

Under the 9MP, 5,018 projects were being implemented with 4,875 of them as development allocation and the rest PFI.

As announced by the Prime Minister in the National 2008 Budget last year, Sabah had been allocated RM4 billion for the implementation of various projects to uplift the people's living quality, he said.

Among the main projects were the Kota Marudu-Ranau Road, Sandakan Northern Ring Road, upgrading of the Kota Belud-Langkon Road, rural healthcare services, hospitals, low-cost housing, water and electricity supplies as well as upgrading of roads and railway.

Musa also commended the JPPS as the implementing agency of the public infrastructure projects (PIA) and basic infrastructure projects (PIAS) as well as the district offices, municipal councils and Kota Kinabalu City Hall, the implementing agencies for the rural small projects (PEKA) for their good performance.

He said the overall performance of PIA, PIAS and PEKA in Sabah last year was 99.12 per cent from the allocated RM244.181million.

As of Dec 31, 2007, he said 1,618 projects costing RM131.17 million had been implemented under PIAS, 491 projects costing RM36.599 million under PIA.

As for PEKA, an allocation of RM75 million was given for 798 projects and about RM74.257 million or 99.01 per cent had been spent for all the projects.

This year, he said, so far for PIA and PIAS, the allocation was RM15.5 million and RM35.5 million, respectively, and the JPPS was currently conducting the raffle draws for these projects in the various districts concerned.