ESP funding highway: Bird

THE East Sepik government is using funds it generates internally to repair sections of the Sepik Highway, according to Governor Allan Bird.
Bird said the national government had not allocated any funding for the road upgrading programme.
He said the provincial government had to use funds it generated to upgrade sections of the highway in Maprik plus the Wewak town roads.
“We are slowly fixing the road even though they are the responsibility of the national government. We are using provincial funds which are very small. So we can only do as much,” he said.
Bird said K10 million allocated for the Wewak town roads had been with the Works department in Port Moresby since last year.
“After we use the internal revenue to fix the bad sections of Wewak and Maprik towns, we will then use the internal revenue to fix the bad sections of the Angoram Highway,” he said.
“We are using the Works Department equipment in Wewak to do the work. I am having constant dialogue with the works minister on this matter.
“The Minister for Works came to Wewak last October and was given a firsthand view of our road conditions.”