Daru town rehabilitation project still in the works?

THE Daru Town Rehabilitation Project 2017 was designed to develop in direct response to its prevailing scenario and to offer opportunities for employment, skills training and creating small scale business incentives for youths, women and men.
To forward Daru town, the proposed project must serve as a catalyst for change.
“After all, we have the international airport declared by the PNG Ports Corporation where Customs and National Quarantine Agriculture Inspection Authority clear marine products for international export to Australia,” Daru town mayor Samuel Winggu said, adding that PNG Ports had declared the wharf for international logging export.
Winggu also wants the annual compensation funds from the OK Tedi Mine under the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) to be allocated to the DULLG.
At the moment, Daru is under the non-CMCA category.
“But then we need to benefit from the CMCA funds. Because villages like Oromosapuo, Sepe, Saguane and those from Wapata-speaking villages no longer exist. These villages that once thrived along the Fly River have been wiped out by floods caused by the bursting of the Fly River banks due to mine tailings dumped into the river.
“That caused the sand banks to build up. Other villages along the river are slowly going into extinction and all these villagers are now living in settlements in Daru, putting pressure on the limited Government services. These villagers get general compensations but they create more social problems in Daru by drinking alcohol and fighting.
“So funds from both CMCA and non-CMCA should be allocated to DULLG to help develop the existing Government infrastructure. We will also use these funds to provide social and business services to these affected villagers to help them invest their compensation money and also set up counselling classes to help them in socio-economic development,” Wingu said.
He said another long term plan was for the National Lands Boundary Commission to split South Fly and create a separate electorate for Daru and neighboring villages on the main land.
“Just like other urban towns like Lae, Goroka, Madang, Wewak, Mt Hagen, Kerema, Rabaul, Alotau, etc. And I appeal to Western MPs to push for it,” he added.
Flonky Narea, who had been residing in Daru since 1960, also expressed similar sentiments stressing that the town was built to cater for 5,000 people in the colonial days 60 years ago.
“But now it is now about 20,000 people. And just fewer than 1,000 people are in the formal employment in the private and public sector. The rest are unemployed, eking out a living by selling fish, crabs, shellfish, fried fish, firewood and betel nuts. So we need the South Fly DDA and the Western government to really create economic activities for the people on Daru Island.
“Because the ratio of employed people to unemployed is very high and is frightening,” he added.
Narea said Daru was a no man’s land that had no traditional landowners.
“The island was first settled and a town was established when the early missionaries from the London Mission Society (now the United Church) arrived in the 1800s. The missionaries were from the Torres Straits in Far North Queensland, Australia, just about 30 nautical miles (60km) from Daru.

“Since then, Western was part of the then British New Guinean colony. The colonial government also set up the provincial headquarters in Daru. And the British handed over the colony to the Australian government in 1900s. So, the Australian government developed this town to cater for only 5,000 people,” he added.
Narea added: “When the Australians left in 1975 after our Independence, there had been no development and we were left on our own. There are no job opportunities. Lucky for us, this island is surrounded by mangroves and large reefs that are rich in marine resources.
“So Daru is blessed with marine resources. So we catch fish, lobsters, crabs and other marine resources to sell in the market. And other markets are run down and very small. There are no shelters, so the sellers sell their food in the open under the scorching sun and heavy rain. So, we are not poor. It is just that we lack public services.”
Narea said Daru was notoriously known for transnational criminal activities.
“And we suspect that some individuals in law enforcement agencies like immigrations, police, NAQIA, customs and National Fisheries Authority are involved in transnational criminal activities. But then what can we do? This is an outback forgotten frontier town, so no one, including the Government, is interested in us,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, South Fly District Development Authority (SFDDA) chief executive officer Tawa Gebia said both the district and provincial governments were aware of Daru’s predicament and had development plans.
“We will develop growth centres in Wipim, Morehead and the other four LLGs and establish government services. Also, growth centres in the four LLGs will generate economic activities and to stop people from flocking into Daru and putting pressure on the current deteriorating town.
“We also plan to improve the Daru market to spur the livelihood of the people. The upgrading of the market is in our five-year development plan,” he said, adding the market would serve Daru’s working population to buy and sell their produce like sago, garden food, fish and wild life.