Mul orders Rotarians out of Jiwaka

By JEFFREY ELAPA
A MEMBER of parliament has stopped a multi-million kina project by a non-governmental organisation in Jiwaka, accusing it of meddling in local politics.
North Waghi MP Benjamin Mul had called Adrian Roach, the assistant governor of Rotary Australia, to advise him that they were interfering with the politics in the area and not to return to Jiwaka.
An email copy from Roach confirmed that Mul, the Jiwaka Transitional Authority chairman, had told them not to return to PNG, accusing them of interfering in local politics and should cease all projects in the area until after
the election.
Manager PNG Rotary Jiwaka project Frank Goi said Rotary International Australia had been assisting communities in the Jiwaka area by improving basic services through humanitarian work in the past two years.
He said the projects worth millions of kina were freely given to the people of Jiwaka.
The organisation was planning to return for the second phase of the project.
Goi said Rotary had assisted the people of Jiwaka with education, health and water supply.
It also built and renovated classrooms, teachers’ houses and health centres.
The Rotarians supplied hospital beds, hospital equipment and computers for schools.
It gave women sewing machines, donated musical instruments to churches and provided scholarships for primary school children to study in Australia through an exchange programme.
Four students are already studying in Australia while another four would have gone this year.
There is also a training scholarship for teachers from selected schools in the area to go for further training in Australia.
Goi said two container loads of material for schools and hospitals bound for Jiwaka had been held back.
Attempts to contact Mul were unsuccessful.