PNG Parliamentary Opposition Leader James Nomane has called on the Government to immediately fund districts and provinces according to the announced El Niño impact scale, saying need, not politics, must drive funding directly to affected communities.
Prime Minister James Marape on Sunday evening, August 30, said the Supplementary Budget to be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, today, will prioritize fuel price relief, El Niño preparedness and preparations for the 2027 National General Election.
The machinery of a national El Niño emergency response is finally turning.
Minister Billy Joseph has convened the new El Niño Ministerial Committee, met bilateral partners and stakeholders through the PNG Disaster Management Team mechanism co-chaired with the United Nations, while the National Weather Service has published a drought severity scale.
“Our Government has carefully reviewed our priorities and how best we can support our country during these challenging times,” Prime Minister Marape said.
The Opposition acknowledges these steps. Now comes the only test that matters: will the money follow the scale? Need, not politics, must drive funding directly to the districts and provinces impacted.
“The scale is announced. Now comes the only test that matters: will the money follow the scale?” Mr. Nomane said.
The August Drought Early Warning bulletin rates the National Capital District and Gulf as extreme; places Southern Highlands, Hela, Simbu, Eastern Highlands, Morobe, Western, Central, Milne Bay, Manus, New Ireland, West New Britain and Bougainville on severe alert; and holds the remainder on moderate watch.
Yet NEC Decision 154/2026 still hands every province a flat K10 million and every district a flat K5 million, as if a mother in extreme Gulf and a family on moderate watch face the same hunger and food security pressures.
“Equal shares are not equity. A scale published but not funded is a press release, not a plan,” Opposition Leader Nomane said.
The Minister is right about one thing: provinces and districts must lead as first responders.
Decentralization is the prerequisite for effective mitigation, because the ward councilor knows the dry creek, the district officer knows the failed garden, and Waigani knows neither.
But decentralization without money is the delegation of blame.
“So, disburse immediately after the Supplementary Budget on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and disburse by the scale of El Nino impact,” Mr. Nomane said.
Every week the K300 million and reprioritized funds sit in Waigani accounts is a week of exposure to the scandals, graft and misappropriation that have consumed Waigani trust accounts before.
“Delay is the incubator of corruption; speed and transparency are its antidote,” Opposition Leader Nomane said.
The pathway is non-negotiable.
First, allocate all El Niño relief across the 22 provinces and 96 districts strictly by the announced severity scale, front-loaded to extreme, then severe, then moderate, with district-level figures published before release.
Second, transfer funds directly to provincial and district disaster accounts now, with every warrant published.
Third, monthly acquittals to Parliament under real-time Auditor-General oversight.
The Opposition expects this Government to be genuine: to disburse equitably to affected provinces and districts and never to politicize relief while people suffer.
“Fund the very scale you published, trust the provinces you praised, and account for every toea you borrowed. Not favorites but need; not delay, but delivery; not politics, but people,” Mr. Nomane said.
This is an opportunity for government to demonstrate that it is responsive to national crises and can put the people first.