K3.5mil spent on NID

OK Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) has spent about K3.5 million for the National Identity (NID) and birth certificate registrations in Western with at least 50,000 already registered.
So far a total of 53,915 people from the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) communities, OTML employees, contractors and dependents from Kiunga, Tabubil, Bige and Port Moresby offices, including government workers and other service providers in Tabubil, have registered.
There are two teams doing NID registration for the CMCA villages. One covering land-based villages and the other covering river-based villages.
Land-based villages include those along the Kiunga-Tabubil Highway, and river-based are located along the Fly River corridor.
Ward councillor for Komovai village, Phidelis Philie, thanked OTML for the service provided to the CMCA communities.
Philie said NID and birth certificates are important for the community as it will allow easy access to services and open many doors for the people.
Komovai village planning committee chairman, Markhus Kapi said the community had waited for NID and OTML and they made it happen for them to register.
“When we go to the border of Indonesia to sell fish and exchange our local products they ask for our identification but we explain to them that we do not have any identification cards,” Kapi said.
“Port Moresby is too far and expensive to travel to register for NID. There is no NID office in Kiunga and that makes it hard for us. The government is unable to provide this service to the people due to the remoteness of our communities.
“Thanks to OTML for bringing this service to us, now we will have NID to prove our identification so we can access markets in Indonesia. We are very happy and have been waiting for this for a very long time,” Kapi said.
The registration of river-based CMCA villages started in March and only 14 villages are left to complete.
The registration project will cover 158 CMCA villages in the eight CMCA regions.