Focus on rural areas: Agarobe

CENTRAL Governor Robert Agarobe says development and changes will only come when the standard of living in rural communities is improved.
He said this at a development forum for Central in Port Moresby yesterday.
Agarobe said the most important resource to drive the development and change were the people and land.
He said 97 per cent of the people were living in rural areas so discussions on developing the districts and the province had to be about the people and their land.
Agarobe said Central needed to be empowered and self-reliant and self-sustaining as a government and province and this could be achieved through the creation of laws to protect its land and assets.
He said to improve roads and infrastructure throughout the districts, the people needed to take ownership and responsibility and work together.
Agarobe said education and opportunities for Central people was the first priority.
He said health was another area that the province needed to address as it depended almost entirely on the National Capital District for this service and had no capacity of its own.