Socio-economic imbalance in Kutubu

I TRAVELLED home to Kutubu in the southwestern end of the Southern Highlands Province (SHP) on Dec 8 last year.
I was born and raised there in the 1990s and towards mid-2000 but I left the place I called home to seek high school and tertiary studies in the East Sepik and later, in Port Moresby.
It was one of my Christmas breaks from studies.
The PMV truck which I travelled on was loaded with other passengers and cargoes of store goods from Mendi Town.
A couple of passengers and the buscrew were puffing cigarettes as the engine screeched, chugging in and out.
The Mendi/Tari section of the Okuk Highway was now sealed and upgraded and it zigzagged through some enchanting hills and creeks of the Imbonggu District.
Looking back, I saw the towering Mount Giluwe shrouded in mist, with Mount Ialibu and other nearby and distant mountains were also visible, presenting a lush patchwork of PNG’s highlands beauty.
After some minutes, the PMV arrived at Parita Junction in the Nipa/Kutubu District and took the southward turn — the Kutubu Access Road.
The road was of limestone gravel and the ride was not that smooth as on sealed road.  I was wondering whether the Kutubu Tax Credit Scheme (TSC) of 1992, created under the Kutubu Oil Project, was really benefitting the access road.
The ride was now bumpy and the PMV was slowing down to negotiate the potholes and the loose gravel.
It was really a tiring ride for the driver and everyone on the PMV.
After an hour and a few minutes, all signs of human settlement disappeared as the road cut through mountainous terrain that the road.
The Erave River, which drains all the rivers in the Imbonggu, Mendi, Nipa and Enga’s Kandep districts, was flowing eastward through a towering gorge and the road negotiated the meanders and slowly climbed over the hilltop, through the small valleys and troughs and penetrated deeper into the thick, mountain jungle southward.
The road continued southward and when it started to turn westward, I saw a sago palm on the southern foot of the towering mountain range — which in this region signifies the gateway to Kutubu and the mixed lowland and highland climates.
Here I saw a wide and very long low lying valley.
It was the Mubi Valley which is home to the Foi Tribe of Kutubu and consists of eight council wards.
The Lower Foi, Fasu, Huli and Bosavi Tribes lives in separate valleys which are great distances.
The Mubi Valley was surrounded by low-lying mountain ranges and Mount Castle in the north.
Hela’s Mount Ambua was visible in the distant skies to the west.
Sago palms, tulips, ferns, bamboos, mareta patches and breadfruit were plentiful around here.
I got off at the Pimaga Government Station after two hours of travel and left behind the Kutubu Access Road, which continued to the Kutubu Petroleum Development Licence area.
This was the road to Kutubu, which opened the economic bowl of PNG in 1992 after the Panguna mine.
However, the quality of the road bothered me, seeing the profound imbalance between the socio-economic environment of Kutubu.
I can assuredly say that there’s an imbalance in the socio-economic development of Kutubu due to socio-political crime, very much attributed to the negligence by the different levels of government and local authorities and partners.

Mike H, Via email