Bringing services to remote areas costly, MP says

By LUKE KAMA
DELIVERING relief supplies and services to people living in remote places not linked by road is costly, Sohe MP Henry Amuli says.
Amuli travelled in a helicopter hired by the district development authority to distribute tents to some villages in the remote Kokoda local-level government area on Friday. Strong winds destroyed homes and gardens in villages along the Kokoda Track two weeks ago, leaving some homeless.
Amuli said a team comprising officers from the Sohe district authority, Oro administration and Kokoda sub-district had conducted an assessment after the disaster found that the people needed tents.
“The roofs of their bush material house were destroyed by the cyclone so their immediate need is shelter,” he said.
“So we are now supplying the canvas to all the four villages of Apuri, Alola, Isurava and Hagutawa.”
Amuli said the tents were to provide temporary shelter, while they looked for materials to build new homes.
“And one important thing is that providing relief supplies or bringing services to remote communities like Kokoda which is not linked by road is very costly and challenging,” he said.
“We spent close to K14,000 to hire the chopper for less than two hours. When you look at places that have roads, you can just drive by and drop off the canvas at a much lesser cost.”