The Manam Resettlement Authority (MaRA) is calling on the Government to provide more financial assistance, in order to carry out its resettlement exercise, various programs and projects as stipulated in their development timeline.
An insightful power point presentation by the Board Chairman, Dr. Boga Figa, highlighted the journey of the Manam and Boisa Islanders since 2004.
The island was home to around 9,600 people who have been affected by volcanic eruptions and subsequent volcanic hazards, and as current statistics state, their population is steeply increasing as it stands at 20, 000 to date.
The resettlement project currently being undertaken in Bogia and Middle Ramu Districts and needs funding to drive its programs for progressive results. For this year, K1 million has been received by MaRA on the 24th of May, and according to Dr. Figa, this funding has since been used for various projects and programs.
As per its development timeline for resettling displaced islanders, this project should successfully end in 2030.
MaRA chief executive officer, Richard Baia is calling on the Government to seriously look into MaRA matters and allocate more funding in order for them to meet targets and progress.
However, Mr. Baia states that their work is always maximized with whatever funding is received and all their statistics have been physically collected, checked and updated.
Baia stressed the fact that the office is dealing with thousands of people’s lives and they want to see that the displaced islanders are properly resettled so that restoration work can begin.
“We are not only looking at the welfare of the islanders only, we are also taking into consideration the impact it will have on host villages in the care centres and the resettlement area as well.
“We are working on a smooth transition for all lives that will be affected, considering the challenges we need to overcome. Law and order issues are very high, population increase is also another factor apart from health, education and the environment,” commented Baia.
So far a virtual setup of the Manam Island is in place to merge to the host resettlement catchment area of Andarum.