Pomio district gets 10 new ambulances

National Planning Minister Paul Tiensten has handed 10 new ambulances to the people of the isolated and remote Pomio electorate, in East New Britain.
The ambulances were handed over in a brief ceremony at the Ela Motors office at Takubar on Monday which was witnessed by the member for Kokopo and Communications Minister Patrick Tammur, members of the Pomio joint district planning and budget priorities committee and more than 200 people.
The 10-seater Toyota Land Cruisers were bought for nearly K1 million from Tiensten’s district service improvement programme funding.
Tiensten, whose Pomio electorate is not connected to Kokopo by road, said the DSIP “is a deliberate government intervention that will put money straight to the districts for greater impact.
“The health indicators of child death during birth and maternal mortality are high in Pomio electorate and the purchase of the ambulance is an intervention to address the real issues on the ground,” he said.
Tiensten said mothers and children should not be dying if services such as roads, bridges and basic social services were in place.
He said where there were no roads, the ambulances should “brukim bush” (go through the bush) to save a mother and child and the people.
“This is an historic moment and the first time in 35 years that an MP from Pomio has put money to address real issues on the ground.”
He said the millennium development goals stressed the need for the improvement in the health of the people and the government “is doing its best to meet some of the MDG targets”.
Tammur said Pomio and Kokopo MPs “are working shoulder to shoulder to link up Kokopo to Pomio by road”.
He said the country needed leaders with vision who could deliver services to the people.