CYBERJAYA: The Rural and Regional Development Ministry will not spend beyond the allocation approved by the government, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the ministry’s spending is based on the allocation announced in the budget or the amount approved by the government.
“What has been spent indirectly answers the question raised by the Treasury secretary-general (Tan Sri Johan Mahmood Merican).
“No ministry can spend beyond what was stated in the budget speech or the approved allocation,” Ahmad Zahid said when opening the strategic collaboration workshop between the ministry’s rural community centres (PKD) and National Information Dissemination Centres (Nadi) here yesterday, Bernama reported.
The issue of the ministry’s allocation arose following Ahmad Zahid’s remarks on delays in payments to contractors carrying out projects under the ministry.
He said the delays had affected contractors involved in government projects, stressing that the matter must be resolved to prevent payment delays from persisting.
On Sept 2, Johan said there were no restrictions on the allocation for rural road projects and that the full allocation for the projects had been disbursed.
On a separate matter, Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the collaboration with the Communications Ministry on coordinating the PKD and Nadi must be finalised for Cabinet consideration within a month.
He said issues involving human resources, assets, finances, programmes, data sharing and service schemes must be resolved within that period to ensure they do not hinder the coordination of the two ecosystems.
“We must jointly establish a clear timeline, schedule, division of responsibilities and outcome indicators.
“I hope that after this workshop, Datuk Seri Fahmi (Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil) and I can sit down and finalise the Cabinet memorandum between our ministries,” he said.
He added that the coordination should be based on mutual understanding and respect to ensure that agreed decisions translate into effective implementation.
He also called for the agreed PKD-Nadi ecosystem to be maintained even if there are changes in ministers or government in the future.
“The coordination should not be viewed as simply bringing two platforms together but creating an ecosystem capable of strengthening rural development and local economies.
“Rural areas possess their own talent, products, land, heritage and resources that can be developed into economic strengths.
“Our responsibility is to connect all this potential with broader economic opportunities,” he added.
