Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has officially requested the Auditor-General’s Office to conduct an urgent audit into the spending by the departments of Finance, National Planning, and Works and Highways.

He announced this request in response to recent significant disbursements of funds by these three crucial departments.

“I have written to the Auditor-General to preside over an urgent audit into spending by Finance, National Planning and Works and Highways departments,” Prime Minister Marape stated.

“These three key state departments have been responsible for huge disbursement of public funds recently.

“This is not to say that they are wrong, however, it is to point out to the people that we are timebound to ensure that funds are spent properly and work is being done.

“For instance, Ialibu-Pangia MP Peter O’Neill has been criticising public works, claiming that one contractor has been paid K3 billion.

“This is a public utterance, and we have already given instructions to the Auditor-General, to carry out a public audit into the Department of Works and Highways.

“In the same breath, we have also called for a thorough audit in departments of Finance and National Planning, to ascertain how they have been spending their allocated funds.