Instead of waiting for the NBC banking processes to access its allocated K2.5million El Nino drought relief funds, Wau Waria District, under the leadership of PNG Destiny Party Leader and local MP, Hon Marsh Narewec has pushed forward with important preparations to be able to assist communities as soon as the funds are formally released by the bank.

“To our people doing it tough in this dry spell, we hear you and we are working hard to get help to those who need it most,” Hon Narewec said.

Instead of waiting for the funds to be physically available, the first-term MP, in his capacity as the District Development Authority’s (DDA) Chairman, has tasked his CEO, Mr John Orebut to establish a dedicated District El Nino Response Committee, putting in place the necessary structures to ensure relief assistance is delivered promptly, fairly and transparently once funding is accessed.

The delay comes as the K2.5million Elnino relief funds have for the first time, been channelled through the National Banking Corporation (NBC) bank for districts to access, introducing a new financial process that district finance officers must first understand and comply with before accessing the allocations.

“Like other districts in Morobe Province, Wau Waria is working through these new requirements, with a workshop scheduled for this week to guide our finance officers through the necessary banking procedures, financial

processes and requirements to help speed up the process of accessing the funds.”

“In the meantime, the district administration has moved ahead with its response preparations.

From October 13th to the 15th, the District Management Team (DMT), led by the DDA CEO, Mr Orebut, convened meetings to review drought damage reports, identify priority needs and develop a proposed response work plan and budget,” Hon Narewec said.

_{Wau Waria district Elnino response team meeting with the district management team (DMT), chaired by the DDA CEO, Mr John Orebut.}

Central to these preparations is the establishment of the District El Nino Response Committee, a separate oversight body comprising of LLG Managers, Program Managers, government officers, business houses, churches and community representatives.

The committee reflects Hon Narewec’s strong emphasis on transparency and accountability, ensuring that decisions on disaster relief are not left solely to the district administration, but are subjected to broader consultation, scrutiny and endorsement. The committee will be accountable to the DDA and the people of Wau Waria, providing oversight of how limited relief resources are prioritized and eventually distributed.

“The Committee met again today, (Tuesday) October 20th to finalize the plan, budget, and how help will be delivered,” the MP said.

Following the committee’s endorsement, three teams are expected to be deployed tomorrow, Wednesday, October 21st, across the district’s three LLGs, Wau Urban, Wau Rural and Waria to

conduct awareness and collect firsthand information on the extent of drought-related hardships affecting individual communities.

Recognizing that the allocated disaster relief funds may not be sufficient to meet every community’s needs, the DDA is deliberately avoiding a blanket approach to relief distribution.

Instead, the district is adopting a needs-based response, where assistance will be tailored to the actual level of hardship and specific conditions experienced by communities on the ground.

To achieve this, the DDA will deploy KoboToolBox, a digital data collection platform to systematically gather drought impact information from individual wards. The data will enable the committee to assess the severity of the drought in each affected area, identify the most urgent needs and determine which interventions should be implemented immediately.

This evidence-based approach is particularly important for Wau Waria, where communities are spread across difficult and often inaccessible terrain, making accurate information and effective resource allocation critical to disaster response efforts.

Once the ward assessments are completed, the committee will review the findings and determine appropriate relief measures based on verified needs rather than assumptions.