MRA spends more than K1m to maintain school facilities

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Wednesday 5th September, 2012

A PROJECT worth over K1 million funded by the Mineral Resources Authority to maintain facilities at the remote Raicoast High School, in Madang, is progressing well.
Authority community projects engineer Yako Minaro was impressed with the work being carried out by Wass Matau Ltd, a landowner company in the Ramu project area engaged in maintaining facilities at the school.
He visited there last weekend.
In April, the authority awarded the contract worth over K1 million to Wass Matau Ltd.
This is the first phase of the contract under the Ramu project memorandum of  agreement and sees maintenance work being carried out on student dormitories, school mass and ablution blocks.
The work is expected to be completed at the end of this month.
Raicoast High School principal Alfred Nabong expressed gratitude at the authority paying for the maintenance.
Nabong said in late 2009 the school was condemned because the students’ dormitories, mass facilities and ablution blocks were deteriorated.
“The education standard at the school dropped and education authorities were on the verge of closing the school when I came in,” Nabong said.
Maintenance workers include nine full-time employees of Wass Matau Ltd and four casuals from the neighbouring Bibi village in Rai Coast.
Raicoast High School is the only boarding secondary school in the district, which caters for students from coastal and hinterlands areas.
There is only one open-back utility vehicle that serves the school by fetching rations that are transported by boat from Madang to the coast near it.
Ramu NiCo, the developer of the nickel/cobalt project in Madang, recently helped by donating iron beds to the school. 
At the end of last year Ramu NiCo donated a tractor to the school.
The authority has awarded a contract worth K1.3 million to Maigari Ltd, another Ramu project landowner company from the inland pipeline area, to build eight houses at Walium and Usino government station.
Another K1.2 million was awarded to KBK Ltd, the company representing Kurumbukari landowners, in Usino-Bundi, for the construction of the north access road.