Papua New Guinea: Overcoming Diversity, Distance, Fragmentation and Resource Dependence

Abstract

Considers two significant (2014–17) reforms in Papua New Guinea and their potential combined significance in strengthening Public Financial Management for Service Delivery. Public Financial Management (PFM)/Budget execution, including an Integrated Financial Information System (IFMS), involves reforms driven principally by the Department of Finance (DoF)); and Public Sector and Institutional (PSI) reform, including decentralization and local service delivery, involves reforms driven by the Department of Provincial and Local Government Affairs (DPLGA). Papua New Guinea’s budget execution reforms emerged from a combination of political and executive leadership, benchmarked against international standards via a robust Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) review process. While current decentralization remains at an early stage, provincial government, subject to irregular, inadequate resourcing and limited political and executive accountability, has undergone reforms but failed to remedy the difficult three-tier governance arrangements. The new approach to decentralization and service delivery has constituted District Development Authorities (DDAs) as the primary vehicle through which to pursue local development goals.