Middle Fly first in southern region to submit 2025 DSIP report

(from left) DDA Project Officer, Shem Osu District Finance Officer, Rodney Ako DIRD Secretary, Aihi Vaki, District Finance Manager, Kewo Kapala *(back)* and Middle Fly MP's Protocol Officer, Frank Tom. *(Supplied)*

Middle Fly District in Western Province has set a benchmark for accountability and compliance, becoming the 8th district nationally and the 1st in the Southern Region to submit its 2025 District Services Improvement Program Reports through the Digital Bilum Platform.

District Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of the Middle Fly District Development Authority, Petrus Malongim, formally submitted the district's acquittals to the Secretary for the Department of Implementation and Rural Development, Aihi Vaki, via the Bilum Online Platform in Port Moresby on Monday

Malongim said the achievement reflects the commitment of his small team to embrace digital transformation for transparency and accountability.

"Our new district status, skeleton capacity and limited facilities are not limitations, but motivation for us to press on and ensure we comply with national reporting requirements," Malongim said.

Middle Fly Open MP, Maso Hewabi, who was present to support the submission, said he is proud of his district's achievement.

"Being the first District from Southern Region and eight in the country despite being very remote and a new district, we are proud to join other districts to rise to that level. Us being new and remote should not be an excuse when it comes to being accountable as stewards of the people of Middle Fly. Their money must be accounted holistically," MP Hewabi said.

Hewabi said the main challenge was logistics and inaccessibility in collecting reports, but his team overcame it by creating a Contractors WhatsApp Group where contractors provide weekly progressive updates.

"With this, our reporting and acquittal is very, very simple," he said.

He said the compliance will now allow the DDA to track past spending and plan future projects better in terms of sectors and locations.

MP Hewabi commended his administration staff for working in unity despite operating on a skeleton structure.

"I have a great team not because of quantity but their strength is unity and respect for each other. I thank DA Mr Petrus Malongim, DFM Mr Kewo Kapala and electoral staff for working together," he said.

He urged other districts to embrace the platform, saying it is user-friendly.

"I urge every district to comply. We all have our own challenges, but this should not be an excuse. It's 51 years of our country. Let's migrate into this new digital platform," Hewabi said.

Hewabi added that his next priorities are to establish an Electronic Transfer System for the District Treasury, build district administration infrastructure to boost staffing, and improve communication services across Lake Murray, Nomad, Strickland-Bosavi and surrounding areas.

The Bilum Platform is an online system used by DIRD to receive and manage acquittals for funds allocated to provinces and districts across the country.