Good roads lead to better lives

Normal, Weekender
Source:

The National, Friday 27th January 2012

By SAMSON KENDEMAN
GOOD road networks connecting villages, LLGs, districts and provinces in the country will ensure the delivery of goods and services to improve the livelihood of the rural people whose main income is earned from agricultural produce.
Poor health facilities, lack of education (school materials, buildings), appalling roads and bridges, no power and water supplies to rural areas and zero police presence contribute to poverty and starvation.
However, in the Kompiam/Ambum district in Enga province things are changing for the better.
Local MP John Pundari has allocated his District Services Improvement Program (DSIP) funds into impact projects such as health, education, law and order, infrastructures and agriculture.
The Joint District Planning and Budget Priority Committee (JDP&BPC) have so far implemented some notable impact projects; currently under construction is the  Wakumale to Kaiprus road project worth K2.5 million and a 10km Komang (Lakolam) to Monkam road.
Tangem ward 20 in the Ambum Local Level Government (LLG) Councillor Mathew Larson in an interview last month said the construction of that road will see services flow in.
“With good road networks connecting right into our villages, we see other government and company services like schools, aid posts, rural police lock-ups, effective mobile network coverage and others are easily flowing through in the district.
“By using these good roads, we are now able to sell our garden produce, sell our timber, easy to transport cash crops like coffee and have excess to better health and education services,” Larson said.
Larson said previously his people walked for a day to the nearest station or Wabag town for shopping. 
Meanwhile the Kompiam district will soon have a coffee factory, first of its kind in Enga province after a certificate of dry processor was issued by the Coffee Industry Corporation based in Goroka last December following their multi – million kina rehabilitation of coffee projects in the district.
This coffee project was approved by JDP&BPC with K3 million counter-funding by the National Agriculture Development Programme.
The issuance of dry processor permit was based on the statistics collected on green bean bags supplied out of district which was 6,000 within four months.
This will enable local farmers to produce more coffee trees to meet the anticipated 6,000 green bean bags a year requirement regulated by CIC.
The JDP&BPC had also funded the construction of double classrooms in all elementary, primary and high schools in the four LLGs including the newly created Laialam LLG.
DSIP funds are channelled through Enga provincial government, coordinated by provincial works unit in terms of scoping projects, tender and then award contracts.
All DSIP contracts for Kompiam/Ambum are supervised by them. 
So far DSIP funds have been evenly distributed to all LLGs in the district with a focus on building new roads and upgrading trunk roads, establishing rural police lock-ups and police houses, erecting teachers’ house, resource centres, generator for high school, building rural markets, rehabilitating deteriorated government stations, churches, schools, health, civil roads and bridges, agriculture and others.
Community, church and youth leaders in the district said the implementation of DSIP funded projects has brought a lot of development into their areas.
They believe the DSIP is a good programme which will bring positive changes if it is backed by good political leadership and administration.

The writer is the Public Relations & Media Advisor for the Department of Implementation & Rural Development. [email protected]