Minister of Development Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid said that every project under the Ministry of Development (MoD) is aligned with the Ministry of Finance and Economy’s budget theme ‘Together Achieving Wawasan Brunei 2035 Sustainability to ensure the Well-being of the People.’
Therefore, he mentioned, “every project needs to meet the criteria outlined in the RKN checklist through evaluation and consideration of several priorities, such as added value, project necessity, complaint statistics, and findings to determine the priorities for maintenance of existing facilities”.
The minister said this during the third day of the First Meeting of the 22nd Session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) yesterday while responding to question raised by LegCo member Yang Berhormat Zainol bin Haji Mohamed on the main challenge in providing public facilities that are underutilised, and whether there are efforts to ensure that public allocations are directed towards projects that provide long-term benefits to the local population.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda also explained, “Currently, there are buildings that are old and require maintenance. These maintenance works are also subject to availabililty of financial resources, in accordance to priorities for allocating set to repair the buildings. For example, at the moment, there are three Class E flat buildings undergoing maintenance and repair work before they can be made available to government housing applicants for ministry officers and staff.”
In terms of the provision and management of public facilities, he shared, “this is under the jurisdiction and responsibility of each relevant agency. For public facilities such as children playgrounds under the MoD’ supervision, continuous maintenance and restoration works are carried out to ensure these facilities are safe to use and can continue to be enjoyed by the residents in the local area”.
(news source: Borneo Bulletin; pic source: Info Foto, Jabatan Penerangan)
