The Public Accounts Committee will be conducting an inquiry into the Madang Provincial Administration next month.
This was revealed yesterday by the Provincial Administrator, Bernard Lange, during the province’s 2nd quarter budget review.
Mr Lange said he has been advised by the PAC Chairman, John Hickey of the Committee’s decision to visit the province next month to carry out a thorough investigation of the Provincial Government and Administration.
When making the announcement to the province’s senior bureaucrats, Mr Lange has also summoned certain sector heads to immediately put together their sectoral reports and records in place before the PAC Inquiry begins.
Amongst those who were given the orders to do so are the Health Director, Marcus Kachau, Education Director, Moses Sariki, Works Director, Hudd Kassas, and the Assembly Clerk, Rachel Mou.
The assembly clerk was told to furnish all decisions of the Provincial Executive Council backdating to 1992.
Meanwhile, the decision by the Public Accounts Committee has come as relief news to several concerned Madang citizens and leaders who had raised the need several times for a public inquiry into the affairs of the Madang Provincial Government and Administration, either by the PAC or Task Force Sweep.
Amongst those to have raised such concerns is the Governor Jim Kas.
Mr Kas had publicly expressed several months ago that there was an alleged syndicate which operated within the provincial administration.
Although he did not name persons, he said the mafia- type operation was using up public funds on unnecessary projects.
Governor Kas also issued a warning for such practice to stop, stressing he will be coming down hard on officers found to be engaging in this kind of practice.
PNGexposed has played a prominent role in publicly highlighting the corruption in the Madang Administration:
- Madang Audit Committee minutes show breadth of corruption
- Lange accused over K500,000 payment to ILG
- More details emerge of Lange’s obstruction of corruption investigations in Madang
- Lange ignores instructions to fight corruption in Madang
- More on the corruption in Madang and inaction of the Administrator
- Corruption rife in Madang Provincial administration
