Police housing

Early this month, families living at Lae’s Bumbu and Tent City Police Barracks, including those occupying condemned student dormitories at the Three-Mile Department of Agriculture and Livestock’s old training centre, shared their challenges with the media. They highlighted that they use their own money to fix the state houses, suffer from years of plumbing and electricity issues, and are forced to use pit toilets in the city.

In New Ireland, Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent Albert Beli, said houses in their seven barracks were built in colonial times, and are in great need of renovation. 

“Housing is a major problem,” said PPC Beli.

“As far as I know, no new one is being built in New Ireland yet.
“It’s just maintenance of the old ones but we need to increase the capacity of manpower, which means they will only come here if there is accommodation.”

Currently, Kavieng and Namatanai have two police barracks each, while Lakurumau, Konos and Taskul have one each.

On the home front, their families live in some of the most rundown and uninhabitable dwellings in the country.

In Lae City, ‘Loop PNG’ visited 17 police families who are living in condemned student dormitories at the Three-Mile Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL)’s old training centre.

With family sizes averaging between 1 and 5 children, cramped living spaces are the least of their concerns; they have no water, no electricity and only one pit toilet for everyone to use.

Madang Governor Ramsy Pariwa has assured police that they will look into this project to ensure police are adequately housed.

Pariwa had secured a K10m from a budget submission to the National Government last year for the construction of a new police barracks and was approved.

The first K5 million of this money had already been released and he now anticipates the remaining balance to be remitted in order for him to begin ground work in securing a contractor to start building.

Police in Manus are no exception to this despite having just over 55 officers in the province.

Even with over 55 officers, its still not enough to cover the province which has a scattered population among it islands.

“I don’t have enough Police manpower. I have only 55 plus and no new Police accommodation building to take in more Policemen/women,” says Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector David Yapu.

This morning, a commotion aroused at the new barracks which saw some families fighting over some houses.

Some families who were not on the tenancy list to reside in a house had gone up to Bomana earlier this week to occupy house whilst those that were on the tenancy list missed out on getting a house.

Loop PNG talked to a family that had gone up this morning to Bomana only to find out later that their proposed home was already occupied by another family who had gone up earlier this week to claim it.

Commissioner of Police, Gari Baki told Loop PNG that it hasn’t been resolved simply because of the fact that Red Sea hasn’t handed over the buildings to the police department and that the government still owes them money.

Baki says the Police Department does not owe Red Sea any money.

“This is a project initiated by the government but is built on police land.”

The project is completed however, Eda Ranu and PNG Power have not connected power or water because Red Sea has not handed over the keys and would not allow them any access to the property.