Mr. Nicholas Booth / UNDP Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea.*

On Saturday, December 9, 2023 we marked International Anti-Corruption Day. This year, the day was dedicated to raising awareness of the link between anti-corruption and sustainable development. That remains a relevant issue in Papua New Guinea.

The National | January 11, 2024 

The amount of funding pumped into the Government’s Service Improvement Programmes (SIP) has increased dramatically, yet service delivery has been a matter of great concern, University of Papua New Guinea School of business and Public Policy economics lecturer Maholopa Laveil spoke to reporter Jesher Tilto about Sip funds in the country.

The Member for Chuave, James Nomane, raised a critical point in Parliament about the size of the national budget and the lack of visibility of any meaningful impact on ground. 

The MP later said he will not apologize for calling the Treasurer out just before the passing of the supplementary budget, as it was necessary for him to criticize the budget to promote responsible governance, transparency, equitable allocation of resources and address the economic challenges.

The initiative by the Department of Implementation and Rural Development (DIRD) in setting up the Bilum Digital Platform is commendable. A step in the right direction in promotion greater transparency and accountability in our public expenditure. Development partners especially AUSAid should be thanked as well for funding the Initiative.

The issue of corruption is huge in PNG especially when dealing with government funds and deprive the rights of citizens to have access to basic health and education services, particularly the majority of our rural population.

The National | Editorial | 5.09.2023

The Prime Minister James Marape has intimated to various audiences that the District Service Improvement (DSIP) fund will be increased from the current K10 million per open electorate to K20 million.

We presume naturally that the other two services improvement programmes at the provincial and local level government (LLG) will also be doubled.

This year, a huge K1.8 billion has been allocated to 93 Districts through the District Service Improvement (DSIP) and District Infrastructure Programs (DIP) by the Marape-Rosso government.

Already though, more than half of the year is gone, yet there is no way to know how these monies are being spent, as most Districts have no road map in the form of a District Development Plan.

Users of the DDA Watch website are encouraged to upload comments about the performance of individual District Development Authorities for display on the relevant DDA page. Steps to make a comment on your DDA

Step 1: Find the right page for your DDA. Go to the “Find and Score your DDA” search button on the homepage.

You will land on your District page. (All 93 district has a district landing page. Exclusive of AROB) Below is the landing page for North Waghi DDA.

The DDA watch website has a DDA rating system that includes a rating score for each DDA and a ranking table for the top five DDA on the home page. The rating score assesses the performance of each DDA against a number of fixed criteria and incorporates a public satisfaction element.

The DDA Watch website is an impartial and non-partisan information resource for the general public, officials and academics.

The website provides access to information on Papua New Guinea’s District Infrastructure Support Program (DISP) and the work of all ninety-three individual District Development Authorities (DDAs).

The website is completely politically neutral and is not associated with any political party, any elected official or any intending candidate.

Community advocacy organization ACT NOW! is today launching a new website, www.ddawatch.org to promote transparency and accountability in how government funds are used across all 94 Districts in Papua New Guinea.