The National | 18th September 2026
MINISTER for Rural Economic Development Joseph Lelang has expressed surprise and questioned why the The National thought it pertinent to give front page treatment yesterday to a report that claimed billions of kina that MPs have direct responsibility over have “virtually disappeared”.
The billions of kina have indeed “disappeared” because they came off the government’s accounting books.
Zara Kanu | The National
BILLIONS of Kina sent directly to the country’s 96 districts cannot be traced, says a report.
The 2026 DDA watch report by advocacy group, ACT Now, says transparency has hit a terminal low on the use of the district services improvement programme (DSIP) funding by each district.
Each district development authority has a board which is headed by the Member of Parliament of the district who approves the distribution of all DSIP funds.
National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC)
Public consultations reviewing the District Development Authority (DDA) Act 2014 are currently underway in Gulf, following complaints regarding public service delivery at the district level.
A team from the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission (CLRC) arrived in the province this week to conduct a weeklong face-to-face legislative review.
CLRC team leader Kenny Kaipas confirmed that Gulf is among eight provinces selected nationwide for the public exercise.
Editorial | The National
The third-tier is the most important government in the land by virtue of it being closest to the majority of the people.
The local level government (LLG) is also the least important and the least resourced among the three tiers of government.
It does not even have a legal arrangement of its own and has to hang on to the tail coat of the provincial governments under the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Government.
Tony Palme | Yu Tok | Post- Courier
Priorities of most District Development Authorities (DDA’s) and provincial governments are all mixed up and not in synch with strategic planning.
Development agendas should capture the interest of the vast majority and reflected in budget appropriations as per DDA/PEC meeting minutes resolutions.
Post- Courier | Editorial | 18th August 2026
The newly elected MP for Usino Bundi, Vincent Kumura, informed this newspaper that his electorate is much bigger than the whole of the Simbu Province.
Kumura’s electorate shares a border with Simbu, and his people can either go into Kundiawa town, the capital of Simbu or to their home town of Madang, to access basic services because there are limited opportunities in Usino-Bundi.
Barnabas Yenowi | The National
PAPUA New Guinea stands at an important political crossroads as citizens increasingly question traditional election promises and demand greater accountability from their leaders.
Across mainstream media and social platforms, many voters are expressing frustration with repeated claims of neglect and last-minute development initiatives that appear only before elections.
For many Papua New Guineans, the focus is shifting from political slogans to measurable results.
TVWAN Online News | 11th July 2026
Districts Development Authorities (DDAs) are now part of the Papua LNG Development Forum for the first time in a major LNG project in the country. The DDAs will represent landowners outside the host district in the benefits sharing agreement of the US$14.5 billion Papua LNG Development.
Editorial | The National | July 2, 2026
If it were within our power, we would call for a cessation of payment of all Services Improvement Programme (SIP) funds 12 months before any national elections.
There are two related reasons for our proposal.
Firstly, the funds will most certainly be directed to politically convenient avenues, including non-existent projects, just to garner support for the elections.
Eddie Tanago Paine | ACT NOW!
District Development Authorities were established in 2014 by Act of Parliament with the intention to decentralise powers and functions of government and key government agencies to lower levels.
It was done with good intentions, I would assume.
However, there are a number of issues that exists within DDAs and how they are operated.
One major issue is transparency and accountability in planning, expenditure and reporting.
Editorial | The National
THE Constitutional and Law Reform Commission (CLRC) has announced that consultations over a review of the laws on district development authorities (DDA) are expected to start soon.
As the mandated agency tasked to review and reforms laws in Papua New Guinea, the CLRC is expected to identify the necessary legislative and policy reforms that would address the various legal social and economic issues to the implementation of the roles and responsible of DDAs.
Reginal Renagi | The National
PRIME Minister James Marape recently stressed the importance of accountability and the proper use of public funds.
The fair distribution of District Services Improvement Programme (DSIP) and Provincial Services Improvement Programme (PSIP) funding to both Government and Opposition MPs reflects a positive democratic principle: national development should not depend on political loyalty.
Every district and province deserves equal opportunity for progress.
However, equitable funding alone is insufficient.
The National | 11th May, 2026
PEOPLE must demand accountability from their Members of Parliament (MPs) as districts and provinces have received “substantial funding” through their services improvement programme (SIP) funds, Prime Minister James Marape says.
Speaking at Bialla in Nakanai, West New Britain on Friday, Marape warned that citizens would increasingly demand accountability from MPs ahead of General Election 2027.
“By 2027, districts would have received between K70 million and K100 million,” he said.
“The people must see the work.
Editorial | The National | Wednesday 25th March, 2026
THE World Bank this week revealed two of the most significant flaws in PNG government financing arrangement in this country since Independence.
The first is an issue this newspaper has raised often in this space. This is the matter of the provincial and districts services improvement programme funds.
That second has to do with tax exemptions that the government seems to offer willy-nilly to all and sundry as incentives.
The National | February 3, 2026
THE Government has paid a whopping K1.162 billion last year to provinces and districts in service improvement funds that are under the control of Members of Parliament.
Finance Minister Thomas Opa said yesterday that no district and province had been left out in its Provincial (PSIP) and District Service Improvement Programme (DSIP) allocation of K10 million each.
He said the Finance Department payment records confirmed that it paid out K960 million to the 96 districts and K220 million to the 22 provinces.