Isolated villages kept out of touch

MANY of our national leaders promise things they cannot deliver.
This makes people lose trust in them and as mandated leaders they lose credibility in the eyes of their voters.
They should have a checklist apart from their five-year development plans to remind them of the promises they made.
As a concerned citizen and a son who came from the area that is currently affected by the Kadovar volcano in East Sepik, I wish to call upon the East Sepik governor and Wewak Open MP to honour their promises to have a communications tower erected to help the people in the area connect to the outside, especially in times of emergency.
I was at my home village on Ruprup Island two weeks ago after travelling from Lae to bury my mother.
The volcano continues to emit smoke, dust and lava and therefore the risk is still there for people on the island.
Should the situation get worse, how will they raise the alarm or call for help?
This area has not been developed, not since independence at least. Even with the constant threat posed by the Kadovar Volcano, little, if anything, has been done.
What’s wrong with us? Are we not part and parcel of Papua New Guinea? Are we only used as statistics to make up the numbers to help the government plan and deliver services to other parts of the country?
It’s so hurtful.
My fellow villagers have told me that the foundation of the tower has been made and all that is needed is K20,000 from the Wewak District Development Authority to enable Digicel to do the rest of the work.
If funding is an issue for Wewak District Development Authority, can the Minister for Finance and Rural Development and Minister for Communication and Information Technology intervene with funding to fast-track this project?
Please do something. Quickly.

Hanam Bill Sandu
Concerned citizen
LAE