Call to resettle Manam islanders

THE lack of proper dialogue between the governor and MPs is delaying the resettlement of 3000 Manam islanders.
“With law and order issues, the newly established Manam Resettlement Authority needs to fast track the resettlement programme,” Sumkar MP Chris Nangoi said. “We have about 3000 Manam people on my island, and to be frank, there has been a lot of problems between the locals and the islanders from Manam.
“The authority was endorsed by the National Executive Council recently and Ken Fairweather was appointed chairman.
“Fundings have already been allocated, assessments have started to relocate the Manam islanders to Bogia.
“It will also be challenging for the islanders to adapt to life on the mainland.
“The authority must start the resettlement programme as soon as possible because there are already 86,000 people in my electorate.”
Nangoi said the Manam people had been living in care centres for about 15 years, struggling to survive on land that were unsuitable for agriculture.
“They are also often attacked by locals of the care centres. The resettlement programme must be given urgency and speeded up,” he added.
He said that political leaders must also conduct open dialogues to discuss ways to help the resettlement of the islanders because the lack of communication was also delaying the resettlement.