Nine out of 10 board members of the Morobe Provincial Health Authority were sworn in today at the ANGAU Memorial Provincial Hospital’s chapel.
The nine board members were called up by the principal legal officer of the National Department of Health, Margret Asinimbu, to take their oaths.
Local business sector representative, David Wissink, will be chairing the board for the second time while the board’s deputy chair is newcomer and PNG’s chief radiologist, Dr Dora Lenturut-Katal, who is representing the Department of Health.
The other longest serving board member and local business sector representative who emotionally took her oath was Nellie McLay, who wears many hats. She is also the chairlady of the Ahi Prudential Development board, and the president of the PNG Family Health Association.
Representing district affairs is Morobe’s deputy provincial administrator for social sector, Robin Bazzinuc, while the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea’s assistant bishop, Rev. Lucas Kedabing, will be the voice for the religious sector.
The women’s representative on the board is Carol Yawing while the two local community representatives are Lois Kesu Nakmai, from Butibam Village, and Ps David Reeves.
The ex officio member of the board is the Morobe Provincial Administrator, Max Bruten.
The board member who did not make it today was business representative, Zoe Rosalyn Harrison.
The health department’s principal legal officer, Asinimbu, passionately encouraged the board members to remember to be the voice for their people.
She appealed to them to never attend meetings empty-handed. Instead, they should always have a notebook in hand, with the concerns of their sectors written down to be presented to the board.
“There must be a woman’s voice written on that paper,” she stated. “There must be a church voice written on that paper; business sector, community…bring a paper into the meeting. Don’t come without their voices because that’s why we chose you.”