Community helps themselves by fixing damaged road

By JUNIOR UKAHA
MEMBERS of a community on Friday used digging tools to fix a section of the road leading to their settlement in Kokopo, East New Britain, because it had not been fixed by city authorities.
Kokopo-Vunamami urban local-level government ward 16 councillor Simon Kombel said the road also led to the city’s water supply storage tank and rubbish dump.
“We have working-class people, business people, farmers, council workers, school children and taxpayers living in the settlement,” he said.
“The city’s only rubbish dump and water supply tank are also in Raniolo.”
Komel said he had often raised the issue at local level government meetings but to no avail.
Kokopo city manager Freddy Lemeki said work on the road would have been carried out earlier if funding was available.
They have now sent a road grader to fix the damaged section of the road.
“Our long-term plan is to have that road fixed but the problem is funding,” he said.
Lemeki said the dump would be upgraded to an environmentally-friendly one with the assistance from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.