MP: K1mil for Covid-19 operation misused

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
SOUTH Fly MP Sekie Agisa has brushed aside reports that K1 million allocated for the Covid-19 operation in his district in Western was misused in a month.
Agisa said yesterday that his district development authority (DDA) was managing the funds to carry out the operations in the vast district along the PNG-Indonesian and Australian borders.
“We have credible officers in the DDA to manage the funds and people should not give false information about how we are spending the funds,” he said.
Acting South Fly police commander Snr Insp Ewai Segi supported Agisa saying the money had been used according to the requirements of the Covid-19 operation.
“People think that it is a huge (amount of) money and cannot be spent in a month but if you look at it, this is a vast waterlogged district that has isolated communities along swamps, rivers and coastline,” he said.
Snr Insp Segi said the size of the district and costs involved in running the Covid-19 operations meant that the funds were used up quickly.
He said the DDA had met to make a submission to the National Covid-19 Operation Centre for further funding.
He denied reports that about K70,000 worth of Gulama fish went missing when three Indonesian fishermen were arrested by police for allegedly fishing illegally at Wariobidoro village on Kiwai Island.
“These Indonesians fishermen waste our fish by throwing them away after taking out their bladder,” he said.
“Those fish must have also been dumped back into the sea.
“So the fishermen are still under investigation.”