Make Jiwaka dream work: Sir Michael

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare joined Jiwakans yesterday in Minj, Western Highlands, and celebrated the Jiwaka Day and also launched the Minj urbanisation plan in front of a big crowd.
Thousands of people from North, South Waghi, Anglimp and Jimi district dressed in their traditional costumes celebrated the birth of their new province with Sir Michael.
The prime minister was accompanied by his deputy Don Polye and ministers William Duma (mining), Timothy Bonga (forestry), Arthur Somare (state enterprises), Sam Abal (foreign affairs), Job Pomat (inter-government relations), Francis Potape (climate change), Sani Rambi (internal security), Benjamin Poponawa (civil aviation), Lucas Dekena (lands), and Western Highlands Governor Tom Olga.
Sir Michael told the crowd their dream of getting a separate province had come true and urged them to work together with their local MPs and the Jiwaka Transitional Authority (JTA) to prepare for this.
He said the ball was in their court and it needed collective efforts from everyone in Jiwaka to develop it, adding that the national government would only facilitate the development but how Jiwakans manage their own affairs was entirely up to them.
Sir Michael also presented K3 million to JTA as a working capital, K1 million to the police, K1 million to Minj High School and K250,000 to Jiwaka Women’s Group.
He also presented K500,000 each to Jimi High School and Fatima Secondary, K1 million to Waghi Mek, K14 million for the Mt Hagen road sealing and K250,000 to the Western Highlands Women’s Group.
Polye urged the JTA to come up with good plans and structures as to how they would develop the province in the long run.
He said by 2020, the national budget would be around K25 billion and Jiwaka must be prepared to capture some development budget.
Polye told the Jiwakans to grow the economy of their new province by growing more coffee, engage in tourism industry and get their hands dirty by cultivating their land.