The Rabaul District Administration has finally sworn in its new District Procurement Committee (DPC) members, enabling the district to manage and procure projects independently. The DPC had been inactive since 2022 due to the transfer of the former District Administrator, who was the previous chairman. The newly sworn-in committee members include Acting District Administrator Freddy Lemeki, Acting District Treasurer Lynette Wogan, Women’s Representative Florence John, and Community Representative Bernie Benson. The swearing-in ceremony was facilitated by the National Procurement Commission (NPC) team, with Senior Provincial Magistrate Samuel Lavutul overseeing the proceedings. Rabaul MP Dr. Allan Marat, along with district staff, also attended the event on Thursday, August 29th. Dr. Marat congratulated the new DPC members, urging them to take their oaths seriously and follow the proper procurement processes. “We have to attain the right ends by following the right means for the desired ends or results, there are no shortcuts. We must be the servants of the people,” he emphasized. Acting District Administrator Freddy Lemeki expressed his gratitude for the formation of the DPC, acknowledging that many projects were delayed because they had to go through the Provincial Procurement Committee. “There were a lot of projects that we wanted to procure in the district; however, since it's not within my threshold and that of the DPC, we had to wait and put it through the Provincial Procurement Committee,” he said. NPC’s Executive Manager for Sub-National Division, Agarobe Agaru, congratulated the district and assured continued technical support, emphasizing adherence to the Financial Management Act and the National Procurement Act. Agaru highlighted that the District Procurement Committee’s threshold level is K5 million, and the Provincial Procurement Committee’s threshold level is K10 million.