Masiu gets ball rolling in S.B’ville

South Bougainville MP and Deputy Opposition Leader Timothy Masiu has acknowledged the support of the Department of Finance and the Department of Implementation and Rural Development, whgich released officers to help with the district’s overdue DSIP acquittal reports for 2013 to 2015.
The acquittals have been outstanding since the death of former MP Steven Pirika Kama.
Masiu said it was important that the outstanding acquittals were done properly for accountability purposes.
He said the officers also held a workshop to improve understanding of the District Service Improvement Programme (DSIP) and Provincial Support Improvement Programme (PSIP) funds and their purpose.
He pointed out that by law the DSIP and PSIP funds must go directly to the people through their elected members of parliament and to no other authority – not even to the provincial governments.
The workshop, whose participants included contractors in Buin, also covered procurement processes and procedures, and aimed at ensuring district staff and contractors appreciated the importance of compliance with its set processes and procedures.
Masiu said the challenge now was on the district staff to ensure there was always proper compliance and accountability.
Masiu said that since the Bougainville crisis people had been taking things for granted, with little to no regard for proper processes and procedures.
He said Bougainville was still part of Papua New Guinea and must therefore follow and observe correct systems and processes of doing things.
He said that to ensure proper compliance, the district development authority board had approved the setting up of the district supply and tenders board to oversee the awarding of contracts.
“We do not want half-complete projects. I want South Bougainville to be the best.”