Prime Minister James Marape, MP, handed over K17 million in cheques to Western Province South Fly District for several projects during a brief stopover, in Daru Town, while on a tour of rural areas of the province.
Prime Minister Marape announced before the handover of the cheques that K7 million of the cheques presented is for the upgrading and sealing of the road works in Daru, the provincial capital of Western Province.
This cheque was presented to a locally based contractor.
He said another K5 million cheque will go towards the start of punching in a new road from Oriomo to Wiem.
Another five million kina will go towards improving the Daru General Hospital, therefore he asked the AUSAID team based in Daru, who are coordinating work being done at the hospital, to discuss with the provincial areas that they can contribute towards improving so both the government of Australia and Papua New Guinea can work together for the good of the people.
The Prime Minister also presented another cheque of K5 million to the Governor of Western Province, for other impact projects that he would like to implement for the province.
PM Marape is touring the Western Province to identify areas that agricultural and livestock projects can be established so that when the missing link of Trans-Fly is built, the people of Western Province and Papua New Guinea can trade with the people of Indonesia.
“Western Province has a huge agricultural and livestock and tourism potential that has not been tapped into for many years,” he said.
“We have been hypnotized by the thought that mining and petroleum will have an abundance of money to make us all rich yet we remain poor and live in poverty in our own land we have become lazy and unproductive and not doing anything in our land of abundance.”
The Prime Minister told the people of Western Province that there are many ways to make money and not only from oil, gold and gas. There is tourism, fisheries, agriculture and livestock.
He said going into business in these areas also have the potential for people to earn a living to improve living standards but that will only come about if people work and not just sit around waiting for free handouts.
Prime Minister Marape said the Government is working to open access to the Indonesian market for beef, agricultural products, fisheries products and even tourism by building a road link that will go from Daru to Oriomo, then to Wiem and then onto Kiunga and then connecting to Telefomin, connecting the road to the Momase corridor linking Western Province to the PNG – Indonesia Border Post at Wutung and also connecting Western Province to the rest of Papua New Guinea.
In supporting the Prime Minister’s commitments to connect Papua New Guinea in the next 20 years, Minister for Works and Highways Solan Mirisim told the people of Western Province that the Trans-Fly missing links are part of the Government’s flagship program called the ‘Connect PNG Program’, which will see 5.6 percent of the Countries annual budget over the next 20 years go towards upgrading exiting roads and building new ones to
connect the whole country to the main road that will go from Wutung all the way to Alotau in the Milne Bay Province.
The Prime Minister did not travel alone, with him was the Minister for Livestock and Member for South Fly Saki Agisa, Minister for Works and Highways and Member for Telefomin, Solan Mirisim and senior officials from the Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council and the Department of National Planning, who were specifically there to do a site inspection of major impact projects, the government has identified for
implementation in Western Province.
Prime Minister Marape said the officials are there to ensure work is done and progress is being made on the impact projects.
He also appealed again to public servants to keep working if they are called upon during the holidays because there is more work to be done for our people and country to take us where we want to be in the next twenty years and that is everyone becoming financially independent and having access to quality services.
The Prime Minister said our country needs to be connected in as far as development is concerned and that no province must be left behind in that area.