Condoms now accessible

By OGIA MIAMEL
THE National AIDS Council Secretariat will finally access the 800 boxes of condoms stored at a military warehouse, which it needs to distribute before the general election.
Regional manager Valentine Tangoh said the appointment of Dr Paison Dakulala as acting director meant the secretariat could access its bank account to pay the outstanding storage fee of K120,000 to the Defence Force warehouse at Murray Barracks in Port Moresby.
The boxes of condoms were stored at the warehouse after the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade, responsible for the procurement and storage of condoms for the council, withdrew its support.
The council did not have the funds to have the boxes of condoms released because it did not have a director to access its bank account.
“We were not able to access funding because there needs to be signatories and the director approves this kind of money,” Tangoh said.
He said Murray Barracks had earlier agreed to release the boxes and accept payment of the storage fee later.
But Tangoh said they later wanted payment upfront.
“This is the first time we have faced such problems since the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade pulled out,” he said.
“They deal with procurement and storage of the condoms but now the Health Department has taken back that responsibility.”
He said they needed to distribute the condoms before the general election process got underway.
This is to address the increase in unprotected sex during the election period.