Lae authorities urged to fix roads

THE Morobe provincial government, Lae urban local level government and the Works Department have been urged to get their act together and start fixing the Lae city roads.
Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch said yesterday that a K25 million allocation for the maintenance of Lae roads had already been released for that purpose.
He said the money was released last month before the close of accounts for 2007 and was now held in a trust account established for Lae roads maintenance work.
“This having been done, the onus is now on the Department of Works, the Morobe provincial government and the Lae urban local level government to get their act together, organise and facilitate for procurement and tender processes,” Mr Pruaitch said in a statement.
He said it was not a matter of lack of funds as reported in the Post-Courier yesterday, but one of mobilisation and ensuring compliance of financial expenditure procedures.
“The sooner they do this, the better it is for Lae residents,” he said.
Mr Pruaitch also said the Lae roads should be designed to withstand the high rainfall in the area.
“The Government as well as foreign donor partners have been contributing funds to maintain the Lae roads, but we cannot continue to pour in money that will only be washed away in the next lot of rains when engineering and design aspects of this commitment cannot guarantee quality all-weather roads,” he said.
“It is common knowledge that Lae is situated in a high rainfall area, therefore, its roads must be built to withstand such destructive weather conditions and other forces of nature.
“These roads sustain greater and faster wear and tear from the constant use by heavy trucks. The provincial government, the city council and the business community must devise means and ways to reduce the impact these heavy trucks and machinery have on the city’s roads.”