Debts accumulate for soldiers as pay cuts go into the 4th fortnight

It is four fortnights of pay cuts to date for the Service men and women in the Papua New Guinea Defense Force

NBC National News spoke to a handful of soldiers who expressed frustration over the handling of their pay.

They choose to remain anonymous.

The acting Chief of Defense, Commodore Philip Polewara announced last month in a press conference before the long Easter weekend that defense force payroll staff would work throughout the long weekend to complete data upload before pay period 7.

NBC National News has been reliably informed that the service personnel have not seen any improvement in their salary since early in March.

One soldier told NBC News that some members are renting outside of the army Barracks, and this is severely straining their budgets.

The soldiers also highlighted that collection companies are going after them for loans that they owe to the banks, and they are accumulating debt.

One Officer asked, who will be responsible for their debts that has accumulated over the last eight weeks.

The Chief of the Defence Force, Commodore Polewara told NBC News that their pay is being sorted out and they should be able to provide an update by tomorrow [Thursday].

One soldier has however confirmed that her pay has been corrected, along with about a quarter of the 1000 plus servicemen and women last fortnight.