Namatanai presents development plan to department

The National National

Minister for National Planning and Monitoring Richard Maru has received Namatanai’s Five-Year Development Plan 2018-2022, which focuses on “empowering people first”.
Namatanai MP Walter Schnaubelt (pic) handed over the plan that charted a new course for all involved in the development of the district, including all government stakeholders, civil society, churches, and private sector partners.
Schnaubelt said Namatanai, one of two districts in New Ireland, had a population of over 110,000.
Schnaubelt said his district had consumed millions of kina in development funds over the past 40 years; being a resource rich district. However, he said most of these projects and initiatives had not translated into improving the lives of the people, who continued to lack basic services.
He said the district’s five-year development plan addressed the fundamental challenges of deteriorating social services and economic infrastructure.
Areas to be targeted include:

  • Empowering the people to be economically self-reliant;
  • Agricultural development for cash crops and downstream processing prioritised;
  • Improving infrastructure and access to quality services in key sectors of health, education, law and justice and transportation;
  • Improving public utilities and services (power, water, telecommunications, roads, bridges, postal and banking services);
  • To support, improve and establish infrastructure, human resource and capacity building at the district and at local level government levels; and,
  • Improve support for churches, women, youth, sports and NGO’s.

Schnaubelt said his government was determined to lead the district through a roadmap that would result in sustainable and meaningful progress.