The Use and Abuse of Electoral Development Funds and their Impact on Electoral Politics and Governance in Papua New Guinea
Dr Joseph Ketan
On 20 August 2007 CDI launched its latest Policy Paper on Political Governance entitled 'The Use and Abuse of Electoral Development Funds and Their Impact on Electoral Politics and Government in Papua New Guinea'.
While Electoral Development Funds have been a prominent part of representative democracy in Papua New Guinea for decades, CDI commissioned this paper because of the increasing focus on EDFs in public debate about democratic governance in Papua New Guinea. Some maintain that EDFs are an essential means of delivering services to rural communities, while others criticise them as contributing to corruption, cronyism and non-accountability.
This paper is the result of many months of research on this subject. It was authored by Dr Joseph Ketan, a PNG academic and commentator, and provides what we think is the most comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Electoral Development Funds ever published.
As well as analysing the impact of the funds on democracy and governance in Papua New Guinea, Dr Ketan also suggests a number of reform options to restore confidence in the funds and ensure that they are used for development, unimpeded by corruption.
The paper and policy reform options have been sent to the government of Papua New Guinea and have already attracted media interest.
Click on the links below to access media reports and the pdf version of this paper:
