West Sepik police run Aitape-Lumi election ops on credit due to budget shortfall

Police providing security for the Aitape-Lumi by-election in West Sepik Province are operating on credit due to insufficient funding.

Acting Provincial Police Commander, Senior Inspector Silas Kuaino, said the allocated budget is not enough to fully cover logistics, fuel, allowances, rations, and potential emergencies during the election period.

“We were given a budget, but it’s not enough for the scale of this operation,” PPC Kuaino said.

“We have had to run on credit, and once funding is released, it will go straight back to service providers and logistics.”

He further revealed that the West Sepik Police Command is under-resourced, especially during operations like elections. Despite this, PPC Kuaino is confident police will deliver a safe and successful by-election.

He also raised a concern over the shortage of manpower across the province's four districts, adding that limited personnel make it difficult to maintain effective operations during major events.