Administration failing people

THIS is in relation to the recent announcement by the Morobe health administration (MPHA) through PPA Jack Aita (The National, July 15) to divert community health post project belonging to Umba in Kome LLG, Menyamya, to Bulolo.
The administration has failed the rural populace of Umba and Menyamya and deliberately deprived them of this much needed humanitarian facility that would have vastly impacted their lives in this remotest part of the country.
While it is understood it was a donor-funded project facilitated by ADB (Asian Development Bank), the MPHA has the full responsibility over the project in terms of monitoring and ensuring its successful completion.
Everyone knows Menyamya is not only the remotest but, the most difficult place to live in due to its isolated geography from the mains.
People are literally dying here due to lack of vital government services.
Huge amount of money has been paid to helicopter companies to airlift patients into Lae from Umba almost so often in a year as there is not even a single presence of a first aid clinic or an aid post etc. in this densely-populated area.
This knowledge could have better helped the MPHA plan ahead of time to ensure progress is closely monitored and if there was a hindrance an effective communication channel could have been established between the Menyamya administration so there is clear visibility on where the responsibility rests in relation to party contribution to the project.
Unfortunately, this is not the case!
So more than 6,000 beneficiaries of this health project who live along the border areas of Eastern Highlands and back into Markham will have to be again sacrificed just to cover for bureaucratic and political negligence, which has been the case since independence.
The people of Umba have been left in suspense, Menyamya administration on limbo, while the announcement of relocating the community health post project is announced at Tutumang.
This is a joke!
I can’t stop imagining just how other vital rural-based projects in the province are rolled out with this level of performance at the province’s engine room.
Morobe needs to wake up and see that more focus in terms of funding and resources are directed into developing the rural areas.

George E. Seme’o
Son of Umba