The Department of Implementation and Rural Development (DIRD) has commended Esa’ala district for successfully implementing district services improvement program (DSIP) to improve the lives of the rural majority.
Last week, in a meeting after the site inspection were conducted to all three (3) local level government council (LLGs) in the district, DIRD noted that the district already had various government sectors like education, health, works, police, commerce, forestry, disaster officer, community development, agriculture, business development officers and about 100 public servants working in the district.
Media Advisor for DIRD, Samson Kendeman, stressed that the district already had the various government sectors needed to drive the District Development Authority (DDA), or the Joint District Planning and Budget Priority Committee, forward.
Kendeman said what the government would like to see is all the sectors working together to deliver basic services in the district.
“We would like to see all those sectors take the whole of government approach, working together to build the district under the direction of the District Administrator as the chief executive officer of the DDA,” he said.
Despite being a maritime district, Esa’ala is one of the district in Papua New Guinea having access to essential services like health, education, agriculture, infrastructures, water supplies, small scale fisheries activities, jetties, airstrip, rural housing program, establishment of UPNG open campus, medical evacuation, rural markets, boats, Small to Medium Enterprises (SME), community halls, established district works unit, purchased machines for building and maintaining roads, set up Digicel towers for mobile network communications, and others.
The district has been neglected by the successive governments; all government facilities established during colonial days have deteriorated, no new approach were taken into consideration for rehabilitation and maintenance, including the establishment of new facilities to cater for the increasing population on the scattered islands.
The district has been condemned by the National Department of Health some years back, the station has been overgrown with thick grasses, escalating law and order was rife, especially sea pirates, many people have died due to poor accessibility to basic health care and resistance to natural disasters.
However, thanks to the current government, the ‘ghost town’ has been revived.
(Picture: www.esaaladistrict.gov.pg)