Funding reason for switches

By LORRAINE JIMAL
MORE than 40 MPs have switched political parties since 2017 as a result of the slow disbursal of their district funding and this has led to a vote-of-no confidence, a study has revealed.
Michael Kabuni, a research fellow at the Australian National University’s Department of Pacific Affairs, said this while presenting his research findings.
Kabuni said access to government funding through the district services improvement programme (DSIP) and provincial services improvement programme (PSIP) was at the heart of movement on the floor of Parliament.
He said 48 members had switched political parties during that period, and 24 had switched two times, four had switched three times and one has switched six times.
Kabuni said MPs switched from the Opposition to the Government side simply to be guaranteed easier access to their DSIPs and PSIPs.
On average, this is K10 million per MP annually.
“This is a lot of money and a good motivation for MPs to switch to the Government side,” he said.
He said displeasure at the Government’s distribution and/or release of funds would have also prompted votes of no confidence.
Kabuni suggested one way of avoiding the movement was to remove the DSIP and PSIPs funding and amend the Constitution to make the funding for districts and provinces constitutional grants.
“Put that money into district and provincial grants,” he said.
Kabuni said research carried out on governance had made recommendations to improve access and use of funding for districts but the Government had not acted on it.

PM: Decision is between Pangu, PNC

PRIME Minister James Marape says it is now up to the people to decide whether to return Papua New Guinea to former prime minister Peter O’Neill or continue with Pangu Pati.
“In the last three hard years, we (Pangu Pati) managed an economy that was very bad when we took over,” he said.
“We stabilised the economy.
“We invested in programmes all over the country, not just in one centre.
“We are working to ensure that the country is put back on the right road, the road the founding fathers of our nation saw in 1975.
“That is where we are heading.
“Ours is the team that puts the interest of the country first; the team that comprises a coalition of partners.
“If citizens feel that Pangu, at the local level, is not the way to go, then at the national level, I also point you to other parties and ask you to look at their leaders.”
O’Neill – the People’s National Congress party leader – said his party’s focus had always been on improving lives of the people and not one particular candidate or party.
“Our people need a strong democracy where they can participate in free and fair elections,” he said.
“They want their politically elected leaders to work with them and serve them and not to fight among each other.”