Fiji trip

WITH great interest and anticipation, I read the news in City Sivarai last week about NCD Governor visiting Fiji and meeting Ratu Frank Bainimarama, the Fijian Prime Minister, and possibly moving around the capital of Suva with him.
I am of the view that Parkop and his entourage, if he brought any other staff, may have learned a good deal during their sojourn in Fiji.
They would have observed how Suva was organised and how their streets were kept clean and safe.
They would have learned the strategies and policies utilised by Fijians to make Fiji attractive to foreign visitors, hence increase the volume of tourists and other visitors to the islands year after year.
With that, I am of the view that many more changes will occur in Port Moresby in the coming months as a result of the trip to Fiji.
I think what I saw three weeks ago, where betel nut vendors were still selling their nuts at the Tabari bus stop area at midday on a day, will soon become a thing of the past now with the knowledge that Parkop and his team may have learned from their Fiji trip.
It is sad that the issues of uncleanness and safety on the streets of Port Moresby have been going on for ages, making it one of the most unsafe capital cities in the Pacific.
Even the design of the roads and overhead bridges need to be looked at and redone to make the roads accessible to everyone – the young and old, as well as the abled and disabled.
At the moment, the streets are unsafe for people including the old and disabled because the engineers and planners have not been taking into consideration those vulnerable groups of people when designing roads, walkways and foot bridges.
We are hopeful that with the Fiji trip, Parkop and his team will make Port Moresby truly amazing in months to come and bring back its glory days too, those bygone days which had made it appealing to foreign as well as local visitors.

Former Pom resident