Community leaders participate in training

COMMUNITY leaders in the Labuta local level government (LLG) recently took part in a leadership training under the village empowerment and governance programme (VEGP).
The training was supported through the Papua New Guinea-Australia partnership and was held to equip community leaders with skills and knowledge to ensure community needs are addressed.
Buac village leader Kope Kolas said that while PNG villages had existing traditional systems of organising themselves, the pace of change in the country, including the threat of the coronavirus (Covid-19), required leaders to be able to respond with more conventional approaches adopted by the Government.
“The leadership training is helpful; we’ve learned how to align existing village decision-making systems with the provincial and National Government policies,” he said.
“While there are good Government policies for rural development, many of these policies fail because there are no implementing partners at the rural level.”
Kolas said the training would empower community leaders to engage with provincial leaders and deliver services at the community level.
“We are now seeing villagers themselves become the implementing partners of Government which, in turn, leads to more coordinated approaches and accountability to receive vital funding for health and food security and more opportunities for women, youth and people living with a disability.”
The VEGP started in 2018 in 12 villages in Nawaeb.
It has demonstrated success in supporting villages to organise their own leadership, establish and maintain order, identify local resources and work with their respective LLGs and district authorities to achieve outcomes called for by the community.