Agisa confident of South Fly’s progress

The National Weekender
COVER STORY
Cocoa nursery at Kurunti village funded by the DDA.

By MENAGU WALI
THE failures and success of past development activities are key indicators to strategise on ways to improving quality of lives of the people in the rural outskirts of South Fly district in Western.
In the recent past, the province has operated in an ad-hoc manner with the continuous environmental impacts of the Ok Tedi mine in the Fly River system, deteriorating state of infrastructure in the capital town of Daru and lack of economic opportunities due to the lack of proper policy planning.
South Fly, unlike the other 88 districts has a vast land area at 31,864 square kilometers with a scattered population of almost 50,000 occupying only 2,447 square kilometers of the total land area. The district has five local level governments (LLGs), 76 council wards and shares international borders with Australia and Indonesia. Its landscape is mainly low flatlands with lagoons, swamps, river tributaries and stretched coastlands.
To deliver services in this vast inaccessible rural district is a major challenge, especially with no proper road network.
South Fly MP and current Minister for Civil Aviation Serkie Agisa knows these difficulties, and his plans are realistic for the district’s development needs. He says “the plans are an incorporation of consequential development challenges that have longed been overlooked”.
“Our development challenges are critical and we learn to adjust to our needs to ensure services reach our people under a minimum budget.
“While there is reform in planning as a directive to equate our development needs, the South Fly district administration is also mindful to ensure the plans are visible and felt by people in actual service delivery.”
Last year the district outlined its mid-term plan to meet growing trends in some of its development agenda. Its revision was eminent to asses, evaluate and adjust to changing global economic trends amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, which had consequential effects on budgets to implement programmes.

Pioneer graduating students of new Morehead High School.

In line with the provincial master-plan, the district has focused its attention to five key areas including economic road corridor development, growth and service center development, key enabling activities, a sector intervention programme and public-private partnership initiatives. Other key priority areas remain including education, health, the economy, law and order and infrastructure.
The economic sector has been given priority and this is done through empowering locals to participate in agribusiness, fisheries, smallholder businesses. The aim is to create an environment where people are self-sufficient to use natural resources and generate incomes locally for their families. Currently, there is distribution of rice seeds, cocoa seedlings, eagle wood seedlings and vanilla cuttings to communities.
The recently launched Daru market will help local vendors to safely sell their produce whilst at the same time give a new look to the township. A road network plan in the district including Daru town rehabilitation has been incorporated into the five-year development plan which will be delivered under an NEC submission.
In the health sector the provincial health authority concept set the platform for improvement in health management. The modern Mabudawan Health Centre was delivered under the Australian aid programme and is now operational as a level three facility. Daru General Hospital will get a facelift under a similar arrangement whilst rural health infrastructure will also be upgraded.
In education the Morehead High School is slowly taking shape with assistance from Digicel Foundation. It will give the district additional secondary school spaces for its young people. There is also a school fee subsidy programme to help tertiary students from the district.
These development programmes have been implemented in partnership by sector agencies including the provincial government, community service organisations, development partners and churches.
Whilst mid-term planning is crucial to instill direction for the district, local MP Serkie Agisa is also mindful that the public sector will determine the successful implementation of the policies. There has been poor progress made in implementation of projects particularly in economic, social and infrastructure sectors that could have improved the lives of the people.
“It is therefore necessary to review our journey and improve our approach in delivering vital services that will empower our communities,” the MP said.
“We are warning and terminating local contractors who don’t deliver projects to required standards, we are also ensuring to put the right people with expertise to deliver the plans.

MP Serkie Agisa, siting at left, at Morehead District Hospital with locals. The hospital has a Covid-19 centre.

“We have for so long worked in division and isolation in our province and it’s now time to ensure we put our people’s interest first before our own selfish agendas.
The implementing of the South Fly plan is moving at a slow pace given an aging civil service that is clustered in the provincial capital Daru, aging institutional infrastructure and low income earning opportunities for locals.
The local MP says everyone’s input is needed to develop the district, including development partners, elites from the province, and the provincial and national governments.
The success of service delivery will be determined by a stable political environment and productive and pro-active public service machineries focused on achieving desired results. The national government has put in place effective fiscal policy measures to ensure public funds are spent on intended purposes.
The government through its macroeconomic policies has increased the opportunity for economic growth through private sector investment development programmes. This is a positive indication by the government to increase its revenue so that the effect of these positive policies can be felt by the rural communities, hence the district’s alignment in some of these intervention programmes is crucial.
South Fly District itself is strategically located between two international borders, with opportunities for trade in the Asian markets. It has funding opportunities through development partners including revenues from the giant Ok Tedi mine, PNG Sustainable Development Program as well as district and provincial service improvement programme funds.
Its potential to grow into a model district is imminent, however, only strong political will with an empowered and dedicated public service can see more development interventions in South Fly.

  • The author is a staff of the South Fly District Development Authority.