DSIP making a mark province

THE district services improvement programme (DSIP) has proven to be very effective, according to Department of Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs secretary and chief secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc.
Zurenuoc said the programme was bringing about tangible developments that are taking place in the rural areas.
He was speaking at the launching of the report on the case study district and facility funding  undertaken by his department and other relevant departments in Port Moresby on Monday.
He said while the programme had proven successful in some provinces, it was not the same in others.
“For the last four to five years, we have made significant changes at improving service delivery at the ward level but one important thing still remains a problem; funding is not going down to the rural level,” he said.
“We have a beautiful budget set up but it is not really delivering at the rural level and this report is going to address that issue,” he added.
He said the report suggested that an accounting system be established to enable the delivery of services to the wards.
Zurenuoc was also mindful of the fact that there were leakages in the delivery system through the cash flow.
“DSIP is working but how do we ensure that the K1 from Waigani gets to Telefomin and not dwindle down to 50toea when it gets there.
“How can we ride on that experience (DSIP)?” he asked.
Improvement in the flow of funds to facilitate at district level is the key to service delivery priorities.
The case study commissioned by the DPLGA also explored in detail whether public funding was  reaching the health facilities and schools in the remote areas in the country.