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By JASON SOM KAUT
CALLS have been made for Governor Luther Wenge to ensure funds allocated for the
rehabilitation of roads in Morobe province trickle down to the districts.
The call was made by villagers who rely on the 96km stretch of road between
Finschhafen and Sialum for their livelihood, movement of cargo and conducting of
small business activities.
They also called on their elected leaders Finschhafen MP Theo Zurenuoc and
Tewai-Siassi’s Vincent Michaels to join hands and share resources to fix the
Finschhafen to Sialum road.
The villagers, farmers and vehicle owners concerns were brought to the attention
of The National by farmer spokesman and vehicle owner Slesshe Malu of the Sialum
area during a visit to Lae recently.
Mr Malu said Sialum in the Tewai-Siassi district contributed economically to
Finschhafen in terms of commodity crops and both areas should work together to
fix up the roads.
According to the villagers, the state of the Finschhafen to Sialum road is worse
than previous times making it costly for access to basic Government services and
markets.
Mr Malu said fuel prices and vehicle maintenance costs had drastically increased
resulting in inflated passenger and cargo fares.
“We (vehicle owners) must check our vehicles after every trip and pay huge fees
for spare parts. The high cost is affecting our operations and our livelihood,”
he said.
The current cost of travel between Sialum and Finschhafen is K50 per person and
K5 per bag of cargo. It was previously half of that.
Mr Malu said other elected leaders like Bulolo MP Sam Basil and the Member for
Mul-Baiyer had earmarked road as a priority and called on their elected leaders
to follow suit.
 
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