Madang mines director sleeping

Letters, Normal

WHERE has the Madang provincial mines director John Bivi been all this while as millions of kina are being spent by all parties involved in a court battle over the deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) at the Basamuk Bay?
His announcement to the Erima villagers on conducting awareness on the DSTP (The National, Nov 12) is a joke.
Awareness on DSTP should have been done by his office long before the initial construction phase so the developer (MCC), government and concerned landowners would not have wasted their time, effort and resources by going to court.
It will be interesting to see what kind of awareness strategy he is planning to carry out along the coastline of Rai Coast district.
Awareness is such a broad terminology and very often taken for granted, without properly determining the attributes that will positively achieve the maximum desired impact with the target audience.
The strategy must be able to maximise the impact and contain the situation by ensuring the matter does not end up in courts.
Even the locals who will be engaged must undergo proper training so that the awareness drive is effectively and efficiently delivered.
It should not be about how much money one hopes to make from the awareness.
Besides, the provincial information office has gone to sleep as it has not been carrying out anything for a long time.

 

Bishop Kongo
Madang