K460 million was allocated to the PNG Electoral Commission and the Royal PNG Constabulary for the 2022 national general elections.
However, only a small portion was given to the 21 provinces and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
Morobe Province, being the largest in terms of landmass and population, received K5.4 million from the K460 million.
Chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee on 2022 General Elections, Allan Bird, said NCD and Morobe received the largest chunk of the budget, with Bird outlining that K10 million in total was disbursed to these two areas.
Other provinces received smaller amounts, with Bird wondering where the remaining K450 million went.
Speaking at the recent Momase consultations in Lae, Bird said he expected to hear that Morobe received K20 million to conduct the election only to find out that they had K9 million to work with; with K4.4 million coming from the provincial government.
“I’m still not satisfied in my own mind how all of that money was spent,” he said.
“Such a record amount of money.
“I still want to know and we’re going to keep digging until we get to the bottom of it.
“How do we change the structure of the Electoral Commission so that the outcomes are better? So that’s what we’re looking at.”
From the K460 million, Morobe’s police received K300,000 from the RPNGC while the provincial government gave K1 million.
Bird outlined that they have received the same story from all provinces – that only a small amount was allocated for election security operations. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of accountability and said rather than just listening to complaints, the Special Parliamentary Committee on General Elections will look at solutions.