MP Joe Sungi has outlined a number of priorities for Nuku district, Sandaun Province.
The district headquarters, a hospital and upgrading of the district high school into a secondary school will be on his agenda for the next four years.
With the dismissal of the election petition against him at the Waigani National Court on Friday, Sungi said there is a lot more that he can do for his district, which is very remote.
In the last four years, the second term MP said he concentrated on getting the roads in for the people to access services.
“Before I got elected, you couldn’t drive a bus into Nuku but now, my people are riding on the bus from Nuku all the way to Wewak; six hours’ drive. And that’s a result of us delivering roads.
“Like I said so many time, it’s no point putting a district hospital when you don’t have access to the people and the villages. Because that hospital is going to sit idle. You don’t expect the sick to walk for hours to make the trip.
“You need to get the road sorted out for them so that the ambulance can take them straight to the operating theatre,” Sungi said.
He said for Nuku this elections, it was history with only nine candidates contesting the seat.
“In 2012 we had 18 candidates, and 2017 only nine. For Nuku, it is the only electorate in Momase and the Highlands region that had a reduced number of candidates from the 2012 National General elections.
“This is the kind of trend you see in the New Guinea Islands.
“I commend the people, and those who thought of contesting but they didn’t because they want to support and continue with the leadership that they already put in place,” he said.
(Picture: Joe Sungi, Nuku MP)