Commentary by ACT NOW!

ACT NOW! welcomes the recent government announcement of extra funding support to the Department of Implementation and Rural Development (DIRD) to allow physical inspection of district projects funded under the Service Improvement Program. But ACT NOW says the department must be transparent about which projects get inspected and the inspection reports must be made public for transparency and accountability purposes.

Also in recent months while many districts have rushed to submit their 2024 acquittals after the Ombudsman Commission threatened to hold MPs and the DDA CEOs accountable under the Leadership Code, only one district has made its acquittal report available for public scrutiny and social auditing. 

DIRD and other departments responsible, including the Auditor General and Ombudsman Commission, must ensure greater opennesss and transparency so current information voids are fixed to instil public trust and confidence.

The National | April 23rd, 2025: Department gets K4 million to monitor acquittals

THE Government has allocated K4 million worth of monitoring funds to the Department of Implementation and Rural Development (DIRD), Rural and Economic Development Minister Joseph Lelang says.

Lelang said the presentation of acquittals to DIRD was only the first step, but officers needed to visit and inspect project sites to verify the projects implemented through the provincial service improvement programme (PSIP) and district service improvement programme (DSIP) funds.

He said receiving acquittals and then inspecting the projects mentioned in the reports would ensure that all funds were accounted for.

“Acquittals are not the final phase of accountability for SIP funds.

“There is a long list of projects in districts that need to be inspected by DIRD as part of its monitoring role.

“SIP is the main funding that the Government uses as part of its rural intervention programme which complements other development grants given to districts with the aim of bringing sustainable socio-economic development throughout the country.

“Acquittals and monitoring ensures that there is accountability for such funds,” he said.

Lelang added that the National Economic and Fiscal Commission was working on an equalisation format to ensure development funds such as SIP would be appropriately allocated for electorates according to their specific needs.