Jiwaka needs face-lift

THE new Jiwaka province faces many social problems and it is doubtful whether it can run its own affairs.
Dr Michael Dokup, the chief executive officer of the Mt Hagen Provincial Hospital in Western Highlands, who is from Nondugl in Jiwaka, said the newly created province must get its house in order before July’s general elections.
The challenges facing Jiwaka included a rise in the spread of HIV/AIDS and victims not being looked after because there was no hospital in the province.
People drinking homebrew and smoking marijuana resulted in many people having mental illness and there was little control on the sale and drinking of alcohol and homebrew.
He said there was total breakdown in law and order that was obvious in Banz despite police presence and along the Highlands Highway to the Chimbu border.
Violence against women, girls, children and the elderly and
disabled was another major concern.
When he spent the New Year’s weekend with his mother at Waghi, he saw that the general attitude of the people had gone from bad to worse.
He said the big question was: “Are we really serious about a Jiwaka parovince?”
He said Jiwakans must seriously consider the qualities of the intending candidates and not be blinded by hand-outs and empty promises.
The people must decide what sort of life they wanted in the next five years before choosing their leaders.
He said Jiwaka needed smart leaders to move the new province forward.