Border houses sealed for 2012

THE Border Development Authority has started its first major border project after being established by Parliament in 2008.
Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio, authority executive chairman Douglas Tomuriesa and Covec (PNG) Ltd representatives signed a contract yesterday at Government House for the construction of 15 new houses and the renovation of 11 houses at Wutung station in West Sepik.
The project will start early next year and is expected to take 18 months.
These houses will be used by border agency officers such as Customs, defence force, police, National Agricultural Quarantine Inspections Authority (NAQIA), immigration, labour and foreign affairs.
This K15,907,591.71 project is funded by the Asian Development Bank, with the government component of 17% or K2,704,290.
The authority has been given K115 million in the 2012 National Budget for the construction of other international border posts.
But it received only 3.6% of those funds.
These posts are the Kangu border post in
the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, to monitor the movement of people and goods along the PNG-Solomon Islands border and the Mabudawan border post on the PNG-Australian border in Western province.
The other three posts that are in Western that need to be set up to monitor the movement of people and goods along the PNG-Indonesian border are Weam in South Fly, Manda in Middle Fly and Dome in North Fly district. 
Tomuriesa has urged the national government to put its money where its mouth is.
“The government established BDA in 2008. But till now it has not been providing funds for BDA to establish border posts along the PNG-Indonesian, PNG-Solomon Islands, PNG-Australia and PNG-Federal State of Micronesia borders,” he said.
“Apart from that, there are social projects for the people living in the remotest parts of the border provinces. These people have been neglected by governments since 1975.”