Leave politics, seal roads

I WISH to express my comments in relation to National Procurement Commission (NPC) head Simon Bole’s posts in regard to the tender of the Mendi-Nipa and Nipa-Ambua sections of the Okuk Highway by the NPC.
This tender (2020_16 Nipa-Ambua) is a waste of time.
This tender is a cumulative work of those who want this road contract.
The first tender was out in 2015 and through the normal Central Supply & Tenders Board (CSTB) bidding process, Curtain Bros (CB) was awarded the contract.
I was at the Government House with the then minister for Works Francis Awesa to witness the signing by the Governor General, Works Secretary David Wereh and Peter Curtains of CB.
The contract was around K188million.
The second contract also awarded to Curtain Bros was for the Halimbu-Nogoli section.
Some politicians were not satisfied with Curtain Bros getting the contracts so they have used then prime minister Peter O’Neill to derail funding for the sealing projects.
CB got the contracts on merit.
CB, upon signing the contract started doing the road from Ambua Lodge to the 7 corner using their own money.
I was very excited and the people were too.
I believe their cost for doing that section has been reimbursed by the Works Department upon advising them to stop work.
The legitimate CSTB procured contracts were stopped by greedy people for reasons known only to them.
From 2015, five years have gone by and now we see another tender for the same road.
Our people have suffered a lot.
This new tender is nothing but a re-tender and is pure rubbish.
If there is money available now then fund the existing contracts for CB to seal the roads.
Prime Minister James Marape and Governor Philip Undialu are saying one of their key reasons for dethroning Peter O’Neill is for not sealing that same roads.
They are right 100 per cent.
O’Neill should tell Hela and the SHP people why his government did not fund the sealing contracts for Mendi to Nipa to Ambua to Nogoli.
The right thing to do is to withdraw this new tender and fund the road projects under the existing contracts.
If Marape and Undialu are true to their words, I call on them to re-engage CB. Let’s stop politicising these vital road projects.
I call on Wereh to give proper advice to his Works Minister Michael Nali and Marape.
If he helped O’Neill to seal the road from Ialibu to Pangia, why did he not help Hela by sealing our roads?

Francis Potape,
Former Hela Governor