Enga Province

The Bridge in Maip, Mulitaka, in Laiagam-Porgera underwent a structural maintenance following a formal request from the Department of Works (DoW) to Porgera miner Barrick (Niugini) Limited (BNL).

Early last month, the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) Community Projects Road Works team replaced the decks on the 25 metre, eight-bay, compact 100 Bailey Bridge.

It is located about 46km down the Highway from the Porgera Gold Mine.

The PJV Local Procurement Policy was used to engage local contractors for the work on the bridge.

Polye issued the warning on Wednesday  at a ceremony where supporters of his rival candidates at Upper Marient in Kandep surrendered and vowed to support him in this year’s election.   

“Our governor Peter Ipatas does not get the projects for his Irelya village in Enga Province on merit.

“Ipatas uses me as a political commodity to gain them. He usually tells Prime Ministers including the current one that he will distract Polye from concentrating on toppling them.

“My political enemies were easily bought into his tricks at Waigani,” he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross carried out its first distribution of relief items to Pilikambi LLG last week.

A total of 757 kits were distributed to 527 households from the Talyul, Sikir and Andati clans.

More than 500 houses were burnt and 20 people killed in tribal fighting in the area.

The items distributed included jerry cans, blankets, mosquito nets and kitchen items. Each kit also contained a set of tools intended to help families rebuild their homes.

This was announced by the local MP and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration Rimbink Pato during the 10th school graduation last week Friday

Minister Pato said language classes in French, German, Japanese and Bahasa Indonesia will be taught by specialist language teachers based at the school next year.

“Learning one or two different foreign languages will assist students to become internationally competitive in global job market,” Pato said

This is the undertaking from a farmer and community leader Johannes Yola who is organising 428 farmers or households in the area under Coffee Industry Corporation’s industry rehabilitation program.

The farmers at Ambum Valley will work together with Wabag Catholic Diocese who has signed a partnership agreement with CIC on November 9, 2016 to help in coffee improvement work under call 4.

Enga UPNG Students Association and those studying in Port Moresby Business College will stage the third Engan Cultural Day tomorrow, Thursday Dec 8 at Constitutional Park.

Incepted in 2014, the event has seen success over the two years and once more, with the theme “Uniting Enga; preserving our culture”, the students plan for another successful cultural day.

Linking the picturesque Monokam Village in the Ambum valley, the road will serve the people of the Kompiam-Ambum district.

It will cost an estimated K32 million and will be funded by the National Government, with counterpart funding from the district’s K10 million District Services Improvement Program (DSIP).

Prime Minister O’Neill told thousands of people who gathered at the Ambum District that the time for talk from governments is well and truly over, as for the past five years. the National Government has been delivering on infrastructure promises.

The 30,000 people living in Tsak valley are now enjoying a better and upgraded road network which has been impassable over the years, thus reducing travelling time to and from Wapenamanda.

Last Friday, the Ambassador for Japan, His Excellency Morio Matasumoto and his delegation, accompanied by the Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister and Member for Wapenamanda, Rimbink Pato, inspected the bridge and other project sites in the electorate.

The people from surrounding areas, including public servants, came in numbers to witness the occasion.

The capstone event of her trip was the launch of the Enga Cultural Education Program at Wabag Primary School, where almost 2,000 teachers gathered to celebrate it.

In her remarks, Ambassador Ebert-Gray said: “This innovative program will help to preserve the vital cultural principles – the wisdom of your ancestors – which are so important to pass on from generation to generation, and which might otherwise be threatened with extinction.” 

Sir Peter was at Ambum valley, Enga Province, speaking to more than 2000 residents during the weekend.

“There is no leader or a group that can make miracles. Everyone that is in Parliament now have utterly wasted their time,” he told parents, students and teachers on Saturday.

People must understand that leaders do not have the extraordinary ability to address issues overnight, he added.

Sir Peter stated that he is committed to supporting Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and the coalition partners to continue to deliver much-needed services and projects to the people.