Port Moresby, 20 March 2025 — Prime Minister James Marape has defended his government’s approach to balancing infrastructure development with healthcare investment, following questions raised in Parliament by Hiri-Koiari MP Keith Iduhu.
During Thursday’s session, MP Iduhu questioned the government’s funding priorities, pointing to what he described as a stark imbalance between allocations to the Connect PNG infrastructure programme and the struggling health sector. He also raised concerns about ongoing medicine shortages and delays in the Central Provincial Hospital project.
In response, Prime Minister Marape said the government’s commitment to Connect PNG—a nationwide infrastructure initiative—was not at the expense of health or education. He explained that Connect PNG receives 5.6% of the national budget annually, totalling more than K1.1 billion each year from 2022 to 2027. In 2024 alone, the transport sector, which includes Connect PNG, was allocated K2.059 billion—representing 21% of the capital investment budget.
Marape stressed that health and education remain among the top three spending priorities after public service salaries. “We do not deliberately sabotage health funding,” he said. “Funds for the Health Department are allocated and disbursed as planned each year.”
He acknowledged, however, that the health sector faces real challenges, including shortages of medicines and delays in procurement. These issues, he said, are often caused by structural and administrative inefficiencies, including foreign exchange delays and problems in the procurement process.
The Prime Minister noted that reforms are underway to improve the quality of medical supplies, including a policy shift to procure exclusively from World Health Organization-approved suppliers. “We identified discrepancies in procurement processes and acted to ensure medicines come from certified suppliers to protect our people’s health,” he said.
On the stalled Central Provincial Hospital project, Marape admitted delays and said funding had already been transferred from the Departments of Planning, Finance, and Treasury to the Health Department. He blamed administrative bottlenecks for the slow progress.
Marape also highlighted that over K60 million has been invested in Provincial Health Authorities (PHAs) over the past three years and urged provincial governors and MPs to actively engage with their PHAs to ensure accountability and improve service delivery.
While acknowledging that more needs to be done, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening the health system. “Our intention is clear – to ensure the health of our people is not compromised,” he said. “We will revisit our processes if needed to improve the delivery of essential health services.”
He concluded by inviting MP Iduhu to submit his questions in writing should any concerns remain unanswered, assuring Parliament that further responses would be provided.