Persistent governance failures across District Development Authorities

On 19 Aug, 2025 By ACTNOW

ACT NOW! PNG has released its second annual District Development Authority Watch Report, covering the period July 2024 to June 2025.

The findings reveal entrenched failures in transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement across Papua New Guinea’s 96 District Development Authorities (DDAs). This is despite rising government investment of public funds through service improvement and infrastructure grants totaling almost K2 billion a year.

While a few districts have taken positive steps, the overall picture is one of persistent secrecy and a lack of accountability. Transparency should be non-negotiable. Without public plans, budgets, audits and inspections, how can communities trust their development funds are well spent?

Key Findings on District Documents

1.  Five-Year Development Plans (2022 – 2027)

  • Only 37 DDAs have launched a plan, an increase of 16 from 2024, but 59 districts (61%) still lack one.
  • Just 9 districts have made their plans publicly accessible.
  • Western Province and Bougainville lead with 100% coverage.
  • Western Highlands, Madang, West Sepik, and Manu’s provinces have no district plans at all.

2.  Acquittal Reports 2024 and 2023

  • 72 DDAs submitted 2024 financial acquittals to DIRD.
  • Only Talasea DDA (West New Britain) published its report.
  • Twenty-four (24) DDA’s have not submitted their 2024 financial acquittal report.
  • Thirty- five (35) DDA's have still not submitted their outstanding financial acquittal report for 2023.

3.  Audit Reports

  • No audit reports were published for any DDA, repeating the failure from the previous year.
  • The Auditor-General’s Office has cited capacity constraints as a key barrier.

4.  District Annual Budgets

  • Only 6 DDAs (6%) have announced a 2025 budget; none have been made public.
  • 94% of districts operate without a publicly disclosed budget.

5.  Inspection Reports

  • No inspection reports on DSIP/DIP projects are publicly available, despite the Department of Implementation and Rural Development’s mandate to monitor fund usage.

District Development Authority Contact Details: A communication crisis

  • 92 DDAs have named CEOs (up from 45 in 2024), but 4 remain without one.
  • Only 7 DDAs have a working email address.
  • Only 20 districts have published an office phone number (up from just 3 in 2024).
  • Just 14 DDAs have a public postal address, and
  • Only 6 have an active website.

Calls to Action:

  • Publish or Perish: Suspend DSIP/DIP funds to districts without public plans or acquittals.
  • Enforcement: Take action under the Leadership Code against DDA CEOs and Board Chairs who fail to publish all 5-year plans, budgets, acquittals and contact details.
  • Audits: Expand the Auditor-General's Capacity to cover all 96 DDAs annually.
  • DIRD Must Deliver: Boost DIRD’s capacity to monitor projects rigorously and publish inspection reports.

Access the Full Report:  https://actnowpng.org/sites/default/files/publications/DDA%20Watch%20Report%20July%202025.pdf