ACT NOW is urging the Ombudsman Commission to act decisively as the 31st March deadline passes for Districts to submit their Service and Infrastructure Improvement Program acquittals.

The Ombudsman Commission should immediately publish a list of Districts that have failed to comply with the deadline and to take action under the Leadership Code against those leaders who have defaulted.

Continued inaction will erode public trust and enable the misuse of billions of Kina in public funds.

ACT NOW! recently published an analysis on District transparency and accountability that has revealed alarming gaps in basic governance:

• As of July 2024, just 24 out of 96 Districts had lodged their financial acquittals for 2022 or 2023 and none of those acquittals are publicly available;
• Of the 24 Districts that had lodged acquittals, 7 are from the Highlands region, 6 from Momase, 6 from Southern and 5 from the Islands region.

Broader governance failures

The missing acquittals are just part of a deeper governance crisis at the District level.

ACT NOW’s analysis has exposed systematic issues including:

• Only 21 out of 93 Districts have announced a 2022–2027 development plan (and just 7 plans are publicly available).
• Only 2 District Development Authorities have a publicly available email address and only 4 have a public phone number.

Meanwhile, the Auditor General has revealed his office has been unable to audit any of the 439 institutions nationwide that receive service improvement program grants due to a lack of funding.

Accountability must start now

The Ombudsman Commission must:

1. Name and shame: Publish a list of all Districts that have failed to meet the acquittal deadline.

2. Take enforcement action: Investigate and prosecute non-compliant leaders under the Leadership Code.

3. Demand compliance: Require that all Districts publish a five-year development plan and budget before June 30th and allocate funds to the Auditor Generals office to complete outstanding audits for 2023 and 2024.

Transparency and accountability should be non-negotiable when managing billions of Kina in public funds. District leaders owe it to the people of Papua New Guinea to demonstrate honesty and responsibility.

The time for excuses has passed and the Ombudsman Commission must take bold steps to enforce accountability, restore public trust, and pave the way for effective governance.

Members of the public can find out more about the performance of their local District Development Authority on the DDA Watch website - www.ddawatch.org

DDA Watch is an independent, politically neutral platform developed by ACT NOW! to improve transparency and accountability. The website provides the public with access to vital governance documents for each DDA, rankings, and an interactive platform to engage in social accountability.