City back streets need attention

 THE festive season is upon us again and so is the wet season.

The rains started tumbling down last month and will continue into the New Year, the National Weather Service says.

While most people in the nation’s capital welcome the rain and the instant greenery, there are others who see that too much of it can be a real nuisance.

In particular, motorists in the nation’s capital are starting to have headaches from manoeuvring their vehicles around potholes that are growing as fast as the grass.

The main city roads were built to withstand heavy downpours but not the back streets of suburbs like Gerehu, Wagani, Tokarara and Hohola, which are littered with potholes and even craters.

Gerehu, the city’s largest suburb, had not seen the pothole brigade since the last wet season. 

They finally arrived yesterday to start patching the main street, which had become a nightmare for motorists.

The deteriorating road conditions pose certain risks and dangers for motorists who can become easy targets for criminals when they slow their vehicles to avoid potholes.

Just the other week, a motorist lost his vehicle to an armed gang who stopped him at the main roundabout in Gerehu. 

He had slowed to avoid the craters that had developed near the roundabout and was sprung on by the criminals. It was wise of the motorist not to try and run down the gunman as he could have lost his life as well as his car.

More armed holdups of motorists and pedestrians can be expected at Gerehu and other crime invested parts of the city during the wet festive season.

Nonetheless, the deteriorating road conditions in Gerehu and other parts of the Moresby North-West electorate have been a burning issue among the constituents for quite a while.

In particular, many residents in Gerehu believe that their local Member of Parliament has completely abandoned them and totally neglected his duty to serve them. 

In fact, most residents of Gerehu have not seen him since he entered Parliament after the national elections in June last year.

They are hoping their MP will pay them a visit during the festive season but that’s just wishful thinking. 

It would be like waiting till the cows come home for Christmas.

The previous MP, who served three terms, was hardly visible to his constituents. 

Just ask any Gerehu resident whether he or she had seen the former MP during the 15 years he was in Parliament and the likely answer would be “no”.

While other MPs, especially those from the rural areas, have prioritised roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects for their electorates, the Moresby North-West MP, like his predecessor, seems to be more preoccupied with his ministerial duties and national affairs.

Seemingly, the MP thinks that his duties to the nation are more important and should take preference over his duties to the electorate. 

In other words, he thinks he has bigger and better things to do than worry about the small people in the back streets of Gerehu.

Unlike the rural MPs, the Moresby North-West MP does not need to fund new roads or bridges. 

But he can ensure that the existing roads and back streets in his electorate are properly maintained and upgraded.

The MP has no excuses not to maintain the existing roads and backstreets because he has been given appropriate funding by the National Government. 

In fact, all MPs have been allocated their equal share of funds.   

If the MP is too busy with his ministerial duties then he should ensure that the electorate’s development programme and projects are handled by a budget planning and implementation committee.

Hopefully, the MP will wake up sooner than later and attend to his electoral duties, such as maintaining and upgrading the roads and backstreets in Gerehu.

The current band aid treatment given by the pothole brigade is not enough.

Otherwise, the people of Gerehu and the rest of Moresby North-West can start thinking about replacing him in 2017.