Rai Coast people’s desperate plea for road network

A so-called national highway along the northern coastline linking Madang to Saidor which previously served thousands of rural people is now in total neglect by the Government and relevant authorities.

Chairman of Saidor Kangal Festival, Moses Dilambe, who comes from Bandit village near Saidor district headquarter  expressed this recently.

Saidor is the district headquarter of Rai Coast district in Madang Province.

Dilambe recently organized cultural groups from his area to travel by  motor boat to Madang where they showcased a unique night performance displaying tall headdresses of Rai Coast at the Madang Festival.

According to Dilambe,  hundreds of lives had been lost over the years due to people resorting to traveling by sea in rough and stormy weather just to have access to basic services. This is because the road linking Madang to Saidor had not been maintained for decades.

He said the district headquarter at Saidor was accessible by road in the past, however, damages to bridges across big rivers such as Yowar , Minzeng, Guabe and small creeks area had completely cut off the road link.

People of Rai Coast nowadays travel by motorised dingy to Madang to buy trade store goods as well as access other services, which is very costly for most of the people, who are subsistence farmers.
Moreover, services to Saidor station, where the Rai Coast district headquarter is based is in deteriorating state and not functioning properly.

The health centre does not provide proper services due to insufficient medical supplies.

Dilambe said villagers near Basamuk where the nickel/cobalt developer, Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited is located are quite fortunate because the company provides some form of assistance.

However, the communities stretching towards the border of Morobe and the hinterlands are still disadvantaged with regards to accessibility to government services.

“Several bridges built during the colonial era have been washed away and have not replaced, thus causing road links to Saidor being cut off for more than a decade.

“Only during dry season, vehicles can travel to as far as Saidor

 when the level of the rivers are low, otherwise, it is impossible,” Dilambe said.

 

Picture: This boat-stop near Madang Club in town is where Rai Coast people board motorised dingies to travel to their villages in Rai Coast.

Author: 
James. G. Kila