Posted on Post Courier
Prime Minister James Marape has thanked Opposition leader, Belden Namah, for being an advocate for “taking back Tari first”.
“Tari, like other districts in Hela, Southern Highlands, Enga, Gulf and Western provinces, have received little or no support from national governments since the extraction of their oil, gas, copper and gold resources started in 1989,” Mr Marape said.
“Tari district is no exception; for a district that is in close proximity to the Hides gas fields, Mt Kare and Porgera gold fields, Kutubu and Moran oil fields, it is incomprehensible that consecutive national governments over the last 30 years have delivered no major services to Tari, Hela – and other resource areas, for that matter.
“What you see today in Tari and Hela is a result of neglect by the government to give resource owners their due.
“No new schools, no new hospitals, no provincial hospitals, no sealed major highways (from Mendi into Tari and the project areas), no increase in police manpower from just under 60 police, ceasing of correctional services, no improved judicial services, no electricity, no banks,” he said.
“The service lights in Tari are some of the work I did in the district, with help from provincial government, hence, I appreciate Mr Namah’s concerns for Tari.
“He highlights the need for PNG to see that key resource districts still lack development.”
Mr Marape said the lawlessness in Hela is a result of the absence of functional education, law and justice sectors, which has led to an uneducated youth population, who are resorting to crime, especially gun-related murders.
He said the government will work to address this and look at better development-sharing formulas instead of focusing on in few areas of PNG – as in past instances.
“But while I agree with Mr Namah’s call that I need to “take back Tari first”, may I remind him that Tari is not the whole of PNG; I have to look after Tari within the context of equal national wealth-sharing so every part of the country is progressive,” Mr Marape said.
“Most parts of our country have been left out due to uneven distribution of key national impact projects and the government is now charting a development pathway that embraces all parts of PNG instead of a few select urban areas.”
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