Housing remains a challenge

WHAT was touted as a landmark project to provide decent housing for public servants in Port Moresby started off badly.
In fact, the 40 houses that were erected at the start of the Duran Farm housing project will have to be demolished and the components removed carefully by a specialised contractor.
What a waste!
The houses, according to Housing and Urban Development Minister Justin Tkatchenko, have been built using materials containing asbestos, a cancer-causing material.
The minister will now get the National Executive Council to appoint a new contractor to develop the housing project aimed at middle income public servants in Port Moresby.
Some are presently living in urban settlements and do not benefit from reticulated electricity and water. Construction that started four years ago was stopped upon advice from the Sate Solicitor.
Somehow, the Chinese contractor who started work on the project had not followed the proper tender process so its contract was terminated.
A new tendering process was begun and the minister has already a list of recommended builders.
It is hoped that one or more of these companies would do a far better job in building these badly needed low to medium cost homes for public servants and other Papua New Guineans who are faced with housing problems.
The roles of the National Housing Corporation and the Department of Lands and Physical Planning especially, are very critical in realising any government or commercial plan for housing in urban centres to be executed well.
While the country acknowledges the critical need for housing and expects the relevant government agencies to do all within their powers in tackling this huge national issue, apparently some people in those responsible government offices have an entirely different agenda of their own.
It is a selfish agenda driven by greed and people who do not seem to appreciate the needs of their fellow citizens.
When such people in public offices collude with other Papua New Guineans or foreigners driven by similar selfish motives, there is very little hope that vital services meant for deserving citizens would ever reach them.
Such collusion results in sub-standard quality goods and services such as what is seen at the Duran Farm housing project.
It is a shame that this important project has been set back by several years.
If the housing project had been done properly and a credible project contractor was engaged to undertake the construction, a few more of our public servants could be living in new homes now.
Sadly, the project will go back to the drawing board.
For any hope for current and future generations of Papua New Guineans to enjoy equitable provision of housing in urban centres, the inefficiency or mismanagement at the National Housing Corporation and the Department of Lands and Physical Planning should be cleaned out now. The re-tendering of the Duran Farm housing project is one small step in the cleaning up process.
Across the country, there are numerous cases of citizens crying foul over dubious transactions through which NHC properties have been stripped from their possession.
Those affected people deserve redress.
There is a lot more that needs fixing and those in authority know that.
Correcting years of bad management is going to be a daunting task because there would be resistance from some people who are content with providing dismal services to the public.
Nevertheless, it is a task that should be done not only to improve service delivery today but to set in motion a refreshing new public service culture.