Gulf facilities need rehabilitation, says Kavo

PEOPLE from the 10 local level government areas in Kerema, Gulf, lack crucial basic services, and its run-down facilities need rehabilitation to prepare for the proposed Gulf Antelope project.
Governor Havila Kavo said that he did not receive the RESI funding for 2010 and 2011.
The facilities at the Kerema hospital, Kerema Coronation High School and police are in a poor state and the population of 106,000 lack banking services.
The road from Malalaua station to Kerema town is inaccessible with major road works currently undertaken by the Global Construction and Lailai Construction companies.
The provincial government initiated the Seagull Finance Ltd, with assistance from Bank of Papua New Guinea, to restore the banking service with two automatic telling machine late last month.
The Gulf will be the first province in the country to own a bank, said Kavo.
The funding for the extension to the hospital currently undertaken was directed to the health administration without the knowledge of the provincial administration, he said.
Kavo said he had this year received only K7 million to take care of provincial projects but he could not do much with the Gulf Antelope project approaching.
“The most impacted LLGs will be Central Kerema, Kerema Urban, Ihu and Baimuru which do not have much socio-economic activities to sustain livelihoods,” said Kavo.
National Planning and Monitoring minister Sam Basil visited the province by transiting through Tekadu to Malalaua then to Kerema town.
Basil was met by the Kavo and the provincial administrator Emmanuel Xavier, deputy administrator Mark Avai and LLG presidents who travelled to the proposed LNG at site at Hakafiu and Meii villages last Sunday.
The visit was to see the LNG site and assess how related projects could affect landowners, investors and the government.
Kavo also queried why state entities were not doing social mapping. Investors were doing their own social mapping.
He said that 90% of the rural areas in East Kerema, Taure Lakekamu, Central Kerema and Urban, Kaintiba and Kotidanga had 160, 000 people while the Ihu, Baimuru, East and West Kikori had 46, 000.
The people have yet to see basic services reach their doorsteps, said Kavo.