Mothers of the Motu Koita village in Pari village had a meeting with the media to express their concerns about the water outages they have been experiencing for the past 6 months.
The water cuts started again last November and have continued on to this day leaving the villagers helpless and desperate for water.
In a meeting with Eda Ranu, President of Pari Women’s Development Association Geau Sasala says they were told that they had an outstanding bill payment of K224, 000 in total and were told to do an upfront payment of K100, 000 before water can be reconnected back to the village.
As traditional landowners, she says she doesn’t understand why they should be paying when other Motu Koita villages are not paying but still have running water for their homes.
She adds the village has been affected very badly and this has caused them to look for water in nearby villages like Kira Kira, Sabama, Vabukori as well as those who have relatives residing in the main suburbs of the city.
The villages close by are now charging Pari villagers for the water they are getting so they are spending more for the water they are getting on a daily basis.
Mrs Sasala added saying that they will be having a protest march into town and they are giving one week for Eda Ranu, the Member for Moresby South Justin Tkatchenko and the Governor Powes Parkop to act on the villagers’ petition before they march and they also plan to sue Eda Ranu for neglecting their rights to have running water in their village.