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.

“If the Government gives you K50 million, the people must see K50 million worth of work.”

In February, Finance Minister Thomas Opa revealed that the Government had paid K1.162 billion to provinces and districts in SIP funds under the control of MPs.

Opa said each of them had received an allocation of K10 million for their respective provinces (PSIP) and districts (DSIP).

He said the Finance Department payment records, as of December last year, confirmed that it paid out K960 million to the 96 districts and K220 million to the 22 provinces.

PSIP funds are paid to the provincial treasury and distributed at the discretion of the governor, while DSIP funds are paid to the district treasuries and distributed by the Open Member who chairs the district development authority.

Marape said that despite criticisms and economic challenges since 2019, including Covid-19 and global inflation pressures, his Government continued delivering development projects throughout the country.

“Since 2019, we have not stopped working,” he said.

“Even during difficult times, we continued investing in roads, schools, hospitals, and economic opportunities.”