Lack of delivery of quality health and education services across Papua New Guinea is simply the lack of proper planning at the district level, community advocacy organization ACT NOW has described this as a critical failure that is undermining all service delivery. Research by community advocacy organization ACT NOW has revealed that two-years on from the last national election, just one quarter or 25% of Districts have published a five-year development plan for 2023-27. “Good planning is essential for the delivery of quality services,” said ACT NOW Information Coordinator Cathy Tukne. “It is shocking to see that despite Districts now receiving K20 million a year in Service Improvement and Infrastructure funding, most do not have a clear roadmap for how they are using the money.” Ms. Tukne further added that this lack of planning is a major reason for deteriorating local services and the suffering endured by the communities. ACT NOW stated that the lack of proper planning across most Districts also undermines transparency and accountability, with both the general public and key governance institution left in the dark about the management, monitoring, and utilization of District funds In June 2023, ACT NOW launched the DDA Watch website with the intention of improving public access to District information and encouraging greater participation in the monitoring of service delivery, however ACT NOW has been shocked to find that only 7 District plans are publicly available and that 75 Districts out of 96 have yet to announce a plan for 2023-27. “Sadly, no District has yet published an annual budget for 2023 or 2024”, said Ms Tukne. “While we commend the 21 Districts that have launched a plan, we are calling on them to ensure the plans are available to their constituents.” “Meanwhile, we are urging the Department of Finance to stop sending money to those Districts that have yet to produce a plan.” Compounding the problem with a lack of planning, ACT NOW has found only 40 districts have filed an acquittal of their spending with the Department of Implementation and Rural Development (DIRD) over the last 12-months. “Only 24 of those acquittal reports were for spending in 2023 or 2022, the other 18 were for earlier years.” Ms Tukne also added the lack of acquittals raises serious questions about financial accountability at a district level, highlighting that it is the responsibility of government to address these concerns head-on to ensure effective service delivery and good governance so it can deliver meaningful development. She further stated that members of the public must do their part by ensuring they demand better of their MPs and public officials. ACT NOW is urging everyone to visit the DDA Watch website to find out what documents are available for its district and to use the scoring and comment function to make their voices heard.