Duma praises community for taking initiative to build road

MT Hagen MP William Duma has praised the Koma-Kalina Community Development Association for using its own resources to construct the Tega-Kipri road instead of waiting for the Government.
Duma, who is Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investments, visited last Saturday to commission the road and a bailey bridge.
“This is amazing, everyone in the community had the same dream and vision and they contributed, and now a road has been opened and it only needs gravelling and a bailey bridge to connect the villages,” he said.
“This is the result of the respect communities show to their leaders by listening to whatever they say for the benefit of everyone.”
Duma said many people in the country formed associations only to suck in money.
He said they accomplished nothing tangible to improve services in their communities.
Association chairman Peter Kiap said their plans to construct the bridge started on Sept 16, 2017 after seeing villagers from the Tiling and Kilka wards struggling to go to the other side of the river.
He said the community presented a letter to the Department of Works – Western Highlands seeking help with parts of the bridge and the department responded positively.
“The road was not yet constructed, when we got the positive response, the community contributed money for the transportation of the bridge parts,” he said.
“We also contributed to purchase several culverts and hired an excavator and started constructing the road in 2020.”
Kiap said officers from works department supervised the construction of the bridge.
He said plans for the development of roads and bridges were hindered when communities claimed compensation for environment.
“Our people never asked for anything, they were happy that the community will have a road and bridge that will connect them to other villages and communities,” he said.