District focuses on building roads to decrease freight cost

KABWUM district development authority (KDDA) in Morobe has realigned its funding allocation to respective sectors with an additional 10 percent allotted to infrastructure development.
The change of scope for sectoral funding was aimed at constructing more roads to link three isolated local-level government headquarters: Satwag (Komba), Bungawat (Yus) and Yalumet (Deyamos) for easy mobility of goods and services.
Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources and KDDA chairman Patrick Basa said the authority made the changes to increase infrastructural development component from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
Basa said 5 per cent each from economic and Law and Justice sectors were deducted – totalling 10 per cent – which was added onto the existing 30 per cent of infrastructure development component, increasing to 40 per cent. Economic and Law and Justice sectors were decreased to 5 per cent each.
Health and education sectors remained at 20 per cent respectively, including 10 per cent administration component.
Basa said building roads links to all LLGs, would minimise excessive air freight costs in and out of interior LLG stations.
He said excessive freight costs was undermining movement and progress of service delivery to Kabwum’s four LLGs.
“Delivery of health, education, Law and Order and small-medium business activities will flow smoothly when a road network links all parts of Kabwum,” Basa said.