Mangbil calls for accountability in El Nino response

The three DDAs and the Mt Hagen City Authority, finance managers, LLG managers, police, electoral commission, international partners, and the media were part of the Urgent Provincial ElNino Coordination Meeting held earlier this week in Mt Hagen *(NBC News)*

Western Highlands Provincial Administrator and Chairman of the Provincial Disaster Committee, Joseph Iri Mangbil, has called on district administrators and finance managers to ensure transparency, accountability and proper use of disaster funds in responding to the El Nino situation.

Mr. Mangbil made the call during an urgent provincial El Nino coordination meeting attended by district administrators, district finance managers, LLG managers and the Provincial Finance Manager, police, electoral commission and international partners like UNDP, UNICEF, DFAT earlier this week.

The meeting discussed situational reports from the four districts, district El Nino response plans, financial arrangements, accountability and coordination of the provincial response.

Mangbil acknowledged that the K2.5 million allocated to each district for disaster response was insufficient to meet all the needs of communities affected by the El Nino situation.

However, he stressed that the limited funding made needs proper financial management, timely implementation and accountability.

“Honesty, transparency and accountability will play a major role at this crucial time. We need to work together to deliver services and support our people.”

The Provincial Disaster Chairman urged district authorities to manage the available funds responsibly and ensure that assistance reached the intended communities without unnecessary delays.

He said the provincial government, districts, local-level governments and relevant agencies must work together to coordinate their response and address the challenges facing the people.

" We will not engage casuals to do our work. We have to be responsible public servants and carry our work with due diligent so that our people must not be affected by this prolong Elnino," said Mr. Mangbil.

He also emphasised the importance of time management, calling on responsible officers to act promptly rather than allow delays to affect the delivery of essential assistance.

With communities facing the effects of El Nino, Mangbil said cooperation and responsible leadership were necessary to ensure that the limited resources available were used effectively.

He called on the district administrations and finance managers to take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that financial decisions and response activities were properly managed and accounted for.

The urgent meeting forms part of the province's efforts to coordinate district-level response plans and establish appropriate financial and administrative arrangements to address the El Nino situation in Western Highlands Province.