By Theckla Gunga – EM TV News, Port Moresby
Opposition Leader, Don Polye, says poor governance has deprived people in rural areas and their access to power supply.
Polye’s comments follow the delay in the installation of electricity in most districts across Papua New Guinea.
He said the government will not reach its target of providing electricity to over 70 per cent of the population if essential services like the Rural Electrification (RE) projects are not well executed.
“The limited money allocated for the RE program should be used to install the electricity in districts,” Polye said.
The project commenced in 2013 but many districts still lack electricity supply. RE is a joint project between PNG Power and members of parliament to provide electricity to all districts.
PNG remains a country with one of the lowest rates of access to modern energy.
Since 2000, there has been an increase in the demand for electricity in rural areas.
To accommodate this, the government rolled out the RE program to increase people’s assess to electricity.
In the 2015 July parliament sitting, two years after RE was rolled out, it was revealed that no electricity was installed in Angoram district.
Poyle predicts the RE implementation next year, will be delayed in most districts because of the limited funds allocated to the project under District Development Funds for 2016.
“I have looked at the budget figures but there is very limited money for the RE projects. It comes down to good governance and proper management of the program,” Polye said.
