By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
Two Central provincial MPs have each claimed credit for the work currently done on the Tapini highway to link the remote Kuni and Goilala people with Port Moresby.
Central Governor Alphone Moroi and Goilala MP Mathew Poia have also denied knowledge of each other’s effort of spending K1million for the work to re-open the 100km road that was closed since 1997.
The work includes the maintenances of the five bridges with steel and the building of a 1.5km by-pass.
Mr Moroi in a statement said since taking office in 2002, one of his top priorities was to re-open the highway, which was closed due to lack of maintenance by the past provincial governments.
After work was done to re-open the highway in 2004, it was closed again due to the bridges’ decking of timber and bamboo rotting and not in use.
Mr Moroi said his government had allocated K1.2 million for metal bridge decking from Hornibrook NGI company in Lae and shipped to Port Moresby.
“Mr Poia’s contribution was only supporting what I had done and would continue to do so,” he said.
Mr Moroi made these comments after Mr Poia was reported in The National last Tuesday saying that he had initiated the work on the highway with K1 million drawn from the National Works Department’s Trust account.
“The re-opening of the highway was the initiative of the provincial government and should be supported by Mr Poia and Kairuku-Hiri MP Paru Aihi,” Mr Moroi said.
However, Mr Poia still insisted that he was responsible for securing K1million to restart work on the highway.
“I do not know how they had spent K1.2 million as the highway was still impassable when I took the office,” he said.