Prime Minister James Marape handed over K17 million in cheques to South Fly District in Western Province for several projects during a brief stopover in Daru Town.
While on a tour of rural areas of the province, PM 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. 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 K5 million 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 PNG can work together for the good of the people.
The Prime Minister also presented another cheque of K5 million to Western Province Governor for other impact projects that he would like to implement for the province.
PM Marape is touring the 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 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 hypnotised 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.”
PM Marape 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.
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.
The Prime Minister said this road link is vital that will go from Daru to Oriomo to Wiem, then onto Kiunga and connecting Telefomin, then connecting the road to the Momase corridor linking Western to PNG– Indonesia Border Post at Wutung.
This also connects Western Province to the rest of PNG.