Major infrastructure for benefit of whole nation

 I MAKE reference to the recent newspaper articles regarding the leadership debate on Mr Peter O’Neill by Samson Wena, Yapi Akore, John Kika and Kanau Kouzz.  

Wena tends to highlight the O’Neill Government as the most progressive and development focused in the country’s history and should be allowed to govern after the 2017 elections.  

The other three commentators despite acknowledging the Government’s massive infrastructural development state that the development is uneven and is concentrated more in Port Moresby and Lae at the expense of the rural areas.  

They said there was no cost benefit analysis for the massive infrastructural investments and accused Wena of campaigning for O’Neill for the 2017 elections.

I generally support Wena’s views and hence find the comments by Akora, Kika and Kouzz  to be shallow in light of the positive achievements the O’Neill Government has made in the last four years. 

Cities like Port Moresby are the results of modern civilization that we are a part of.  Cities are dynamic and require massive input of resources like energy, food, water and raw materials. 

Cities also release massive amounts of waste and pollution and require high levels of services.  

As such, the Government’s massive infrastructural spending in Port Moresby and Lae are justified in order to bring them to the infrastructural and services levels of modern cities. 

Port Moresby and Lae are not being developed at the expense of rural areas as alluded to by the three writers because the Government has been giving K10 million each to all 89 districts every year. No other governments since 1975 have given that type of funding to the districts. 

On top of that, the local level governments have received separate funding to cater for services at their level. 

Other national government funded rural based projects like the transnational highway/road projects are ongoing all over the country as summed up this week by the new Chief Secretary – Isaac Lupari and quote “No matter where you go, a road is being built, health centres are being renovated, or classrooms built for more children to be accommodated in schools. 

The funding levels earmarked for rural areas therefore in the last four years are unprecedented since independence.  One has to visit the rural districts like Ialibu-Pangia, Mendi, Nipa-Kutubu, Wau-Bulolo, Kokopo, Nuku, Yangoru-Sausia, and many others throughout the country to witness the physical evidence of developments taking place under this government. 

There is no evidence that no cost benefit analysis has been done on the major infrastructural projects.  

Any ordinary person can tell that the big projects like the Lae Tidal Basin project, the Motukea Wharf in Port Moresby, the 4 lane Lae-Nadzab road and others have a very high socio-economic value for the country because they will contribute enormously to generate more wealth for the country.  

In fact, these projects will help to generate more economic activity and increase the gross domestic product of the country in the years to come. 

It is very easy to make negative comments about the players in the field but if we were to take their  place  we probably would perform far worse.  

Wena is giving credit to the O’Neill Government where it is due.  He is not campaigning for O’Neill for the 2017 elections.  

If that is the case ten the other three people can also be perceived as campaigning against O’Neill. 

Walhos Palisa

Waigani, NCD