Maru launches three Wash projects in Yangoru-Saussia

National Planning Minister Richard Maru launched three more water and sanitation hygiene (Wash) programmes in Yangoru-Saussia, making it the district with most Wash programmes.
The Wash programme launching at Munji would benefit Munji, Holik-Yaremboim and Maringe council wards with 120, 56 and 99 water tanks respectively. This brought the total of wards in the district to 18. There are 96 wards.
Maru presented the district’s counterpart funding of K250,000 to Munji village Wash chairman Jeffery Yua to hand over to Oxfam that was implementing the programme under an agreement with the district authority.
Maru said Wash continued to be a major problem for many communities, with only 40 per cent of the population with access to clean, drinking water and 15 per cent with access to proper sanitation and toilets.
“The national government’s target is to ensure 100 per cent of the country’s population has access to clean and safe drinking water as well as access to proper sanitation and toilets by 2050,” he said.
“We are looking at having five-seven more wards in the district get Wash programmes this year. We cannot allow our mothers to continue to suffer.”
Kaylne Bongi, from Munji village, said women walked five to 10km to fetch water for daily use because there was no source in the village area.
“It gets more difficult for the women and men also during events like deaths and feasts, when more people from outside gather,” she said.
Bongi said she and the other women from the village were looking forward to the day tanks were ready.
District chief executive Fantson Yaninen said communities should take the first step with their 10 per cent share payments.
“Funding has been allocated for the Wash project in our district so any community ready to receive the project with their share of the funding, will receive it,” Yaninen said.
The composition of the funding includes, 10 per cent from local communities, 25 per cent from the district and 65 per cent from implementing agency, Oxfam.
Maru urged communities and leaders to get organised and come up with 10 per cent of the funding for Wash projects for their communities.
He said the government’s aim was to see 70 per cent of Papua New Guineans had access to Wash services in their localities by 2030.