Governor’s call make sense

 ENGA Governor Peter Ipatas’s call for the National Gov­ernment to allow the provinces and districts to take ownership of development makes a lot of sense. 

Ipatas should know what he is talking about, having been at the helm of the Enga provincial government for almost two decades.

The veteran politician, well-known for his free ed­ucation initiatives in the Highlands province, has been a keen proponent of decentralisation of government powers and functions.

“How many years have we seen Waigani falter in its functions,” he told parliament recently.

“It seems like there’s no checks against the National Government and the national agencies,” Ipatas said.

He believes there is a lot of room for improvement in Papua New Guinea’s three-tier system of government to make it more efficient and effective in the delivery of government services and programmes to the majority of citizens in the rural and remote areas of the country.

The Government’s initiative to establish district development authorities is a step in the right direction in improving the system. 

The district authorities will now become the link between Waigani and the districts, which should cut red tape and other hindrances at the provincial level.

Despite this, Ipatas’ colleague governors should still support his call for the decentralisation of relevant powers and functions to the provinces and districts, which are the focus of the Government’s current development priorities and programmes.

With increased funding and changes to the procurement processes, the governors can make a real difference in the way their provinces perform.

For a start, the governors need to drastically improve the quality of governance and the way they prioritise and manage their resources.

They need to take drastic measures to improve the performance of their provincial administrations as indicated in the 2008-09 report, which was presented to Parliament last year.

The provincial bureaucracy is responsible for im­p­lementing development pro­grammes and projects throughout the province. 

It is responsible for effecting service delivery to the districts and local level government areas.

If the provincial administrator and key managers are not up to the task, as was the case in many provinces in the past, then programmes and projects are not fully implemented or are not implemented at all while the service delivery machinery grinds to a halt.

In other words, the provinces do not develop and grow according to the National Government’s plans and budget. 

As a result, the people suffer because they are denied essential services such as health and education as well as the opportunities to meaningfully participate in the economic activities to improve their standard of living.

Provincial governments are a vital cog in PNG’s three-tier government machinery and have direct access to the rural majority of our people.

The performance of their political leadership and bureaucracy is crucial to their success or failure and reflects on the National Government.

It is imperative that provincial governments are well equipped with the manpower and resources to carry out their tasks of serving the people.

By the same token, Members of Parliament must work closely with the provincial and district authorities to ensure that government services are delivered on time and within budget.

Nonetheless, many people in the rural and remote areas are still missing out or not getting enough of the basic services that the government has been promising them for years.

Many people continue to complain that their local MPs have neglected them since the last election but their grievances seem to be falling on deaf ears.

An elected leader has a duty and responsibility to serve his or her electorate regardless of whether the people voted for them. 

They simply cannot ignore the people’s pleas for services and development.

With the significant increase in DSIP (district services improve programme) funding, MPs have no reason not to serve their people in the best way possible.

After all, it is in their long-term interests to keep their constituents happy and contented.