By FRANK RAI
THE Morobe provincial administration is currently working on a five-year strategic development plan for 2008 to 2012.
And with the new “intervention model”, the plan is set to develop “healthy, wealthy, self-sustaining” and resilient villages and communities in Morobe.
The provincial division of policy, planning, research and information, is spearheading the formulation of the plan.
The plan is currently at the final stage of write up.
While presenting the Information Paper on the plan to the Tewae-Siassi joint district planning and budget priority committee last Thursday, acting senior planner Elizabeth Maulingin said the main development theme of the plan was “Transformation of Lives and Communities”.
Ms Maulingin said the theme is based on three principle pillars which are to empower people and communities, taking responsibilities, ownership and leadership and fostering a public-private partnership and privately driven economic growth in the province.
She said that since the first plan for 2003 to 2007, expired last December, they were now working on the next plan which would be launched sometime this year.
It is understood that the current plan was formulated after a joint consultation meeting with provincial leaders and politicians, district and administrators, LLG council managers, provincial programme advisors and provincial administrators at the Melanesian Hotel in Lae last December.
The policy goal areas highlighted at the meeting and formulated in the current plan included infrastructure development, sustainable economic growth and development, integral human development, rural growth and development, good governance and national functions, emergency and other service areas.
Ms Maulingin said: “The community leaders will be empowered to identify their village’s development needs and work in close consultation and collaboration with the Morobe provincial government workforce in meeting their socio-economic development needs.
“The plan would ultimately transform lives and communities by identifying and establishing needs relating to their daily lives together.”
Provincial government staff will also be directing funding to areas which they believe will be of direct benefit to individual communities.
Ms Maulingin said strategies, outputs and targets in the plan were established in close consultation with provincial programme advisers who were responsible for centrally coordinating the implementation of national government policies relating to programmes in the province.