Help for Menyamya coffee

Weekender

By MALUM NALU
REMOTE Menyamya, Morobe, produces some of the best coffee in Papua New Guinea which is highly sought after by coffee buyers.
However, road conditions to Menyamya, along the Bulolo-Menyamya Road, are atrocious and only navigable by a good four-wheel drive vehicle.
Coffee growers of Menyamya are known to carry their produce for miles and miles to the nearest market.
Menyamya borders Kaintiba in Gulf and Marawaka in Morobe – some of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the country.
There is, fortunately, a silver lining to the dark clouds of gloom, doom and despair hanging over Menyamya.
Prime Minister James Marape has released K1.5 million for coffee development in the district and assured the people of continued maintenance of the Bulolo-Menyamya Road.
He announced this at Menyamya station last Friday (Oct 8) in front of hundreds of people during his one-day visit.
There were cheers all around as the announcement of support for coffee and the road were made by the Prime Minister.
He also launched five major projects spearheaded by MP Benjamin Philip as well as announced government funding support for several institutions in Menyamya.
Marape was accompanied by Education Minister Jimmy Uguro, Morobe Governor Ginson Saonu and Menyamya MP Benjamin Philip – who are all members of the ruling Pangu Pati.
He said that of the K1.5 million, K1 million would be for a coffee depot, while K500,000 would go towards coffee price support to be administered by local churches.
“I want the Menyamya district administration to set up a good coffee-buying depot here for K1 million so farmers don’t need to carry heavy bags on their shoulders to find markets in Bulolo and Lae,” Marape said.
“I want coffee to be bought here at good prices, which farmers can collect, and then return to their gardens
“I want the churches to get the K500,000 and buy coffee at good prices.
“Our government has put in place a price support programme to support coffee, cocoa, copra, vanilla and other agriculture produce.
“Coffee buyers who are buying here, and at Marawaka (Eastern Highlands) for K1.50 per kg, should now be paying K6 per kg.

“I want the Menyamya district administration to partner with the churches in delivering this programme.
“I am engaging the churches so they can involve young people and get them back to their coffee gardens.
“The churches will then buy coffee at a good price.”
PM Marape said PNG was “one big garden” which he emphasised recently at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
“Our job as government is to help you get your produce to markets,” he said.
“If five million Papua New Guineans go to agriculture, and produce one bag of coffee, cocoa or copra, you are contributing K1.5 billion extra on top of our current National Budget of K12 billion.”
Marape said the Pangu Pati, at the time of Independence in 1975, envisaged a PNG where everyone would have money but this had fallen by the wayside.
“We are now picking up and putting PNG back on the right road to economic independence, where everyone will have money in their pockets,” he said.
“When my government realised that the price of coffee, cocoa and copra was very low, and deterring farmers, we decided to introduce price support and buying points at farm gate.”
Marape told the people of Menyamya his Government was reprioritising its development focus from urban to rural areas of the country.
“When we took government two years ago, we decided that it was enough of spending too much money on Port Moresby and one or two other areas, but share it equally among all areas of Papua New Guinea,” he said
Marape said Menyama was one of those areas which the Government was now focusing on.
He told the people that their MP, Philip, had long been fighting for improved road access in Menyamya.
Marape said Menyamya already had road access, even if only by four-wheel drive vehicles, while other remote areas of the country such as Karamui in Chimbu, Telefomin in West Sepik, Marawaka and Simbai in Madang had none.
He said only K3 billion was earmarked for district infrastructure development in the national budget over the last two years, because of debts incurred by the previous government of Peter O’Neill, and this had to be equally shared among all provinces and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
“If you divide it among the 111 district and provincial procurement points, this equates to K27 million on an equal distribution. This includes the K10 million District Services Improvement Programme /Provincial Services Improvement Programme so you are left with about K17 million each for other development programmes,” Marape said.
“We have tried to be fair over the last two years.
“For Menyamya, we have K10 million in Budget for the main Bulolo-Menyamya Road and I am bringing an additional K8 million for other development needs in the district including SMEs, agriculture and education.
“Whatever little left (in the National Budget) was distributed, as best as possible, to rural areas of the country.
“This includes K10 million for road development in Menyamya.
“This may seem small, however, every year we will put in another K10 million, so that bulldozers are on the road.
“Over the next five to 10 years, we can make this road become a good one.”
Marape said if, over the last 46 years, K5 million had been allocated annually for road development in Menyamya, that would equate to K230 million.
“This, however, had not happened and I will not blame past governments,” he said.
“However, I want to reassure you people of Menyamya, that the road contract for the road from Bulolo to Menyamya is near completion.
“We will also work on the Trans-Island Highway from Menyama to Gulf Province.
“By the time we celebrate 50 years of Independence in 2025, you can be assured of a better road which can be accessed by PMVs, and not only four-wheel drive vehicles as is the case now.
“I know that the road issue is one that you are all concerned about.”
Marape also launched five major projects initiated by the local MP Philip: Rural housing programme to supply roofing iron, upgrading of Menyamya Health Centre to rural hospital status, Menyamya station water supply, staff housing for the hospital and police housing.
Apart from these projects initiated by Philip, Marape also announced assistance to various institutions in Menyamya, from the National Government.
These include K10,000 to all primary schools in the district; K5000 to all elementary schools; and upgrading of Menyamya High School and Aseki High School to secondary schools with a strong emphasis on Flexible Open Distance Education (FODE).
The PM also suggested the National Development Bank set up an agency in Menyamya to look after the interests of coffee farmers there.
He urged the people of Menyamya to go back to their coffee gardens, value education and respect law-and-order.
“These are the three things that I want the people of Menyamya to do: Look after your coffee gardens in partnership with the churches, value your education and have respect for law-and-order,” PM Marape said.
“Don’t be discouraged, don’t feel a sense of hopelessness; have hope.
“Have faith in God and continue working hard on your land.
“We, at the national level, will continue working hard for the next 10 years.
“I have set a target of 10 years for PNG to become the richest, black Christian nation on earth.
“Over the last two years, we have already started achieving this, as evident by us getting a bigger share of resource projects.”

  • Malum Nalu works with the
    Office of the Prime Minister