Civil society organisations and community representatives have gathered in Port Moresby to demand government action on the widespread abuse of Forest Clearing Authorities (FCA).

While the government has been dramatically increasing the amount of funding pumped directly into each District, there is an appalling lack of transparency about how those public funds are being used.

As of July 2024, analysis of media reporting by community advocacy group ACT NOW reveals just 24 out of 96 Districts have lodged their financial acquittals for 2022 or 2023 and none of those acquittals are publicly available. This is despite each District now being given K20 million a year in service and infrastructure improvement grants.