Poor road conditions affect public servants

 By PETER ESOP WARI

PUBLIC servants working in Jimi district are facing problems reaching town because of the poor road conditions.

“It’s really like a nightmare walking for about 48 hours to reach a bus stop and having to wait several more hours for the PMVs (four-wheel-drive vehicles)to come and another 12 hours to travel to town,” says teacher Thomas Omege.

He teaches at Margarima in the Komo-Margarima district of Hela.

He told The National that he travelled three days from Upper Jimi to reach Mt Hagen city.

He said the road was without gravel which was very slippery for vehicles to use.

People had to carry their cargo and walk while others try to push the vehicles to a usable part of the road.

“There are schools, health centres and aid posts in lower, central and upper Jimi and public servants in the area need goods such as rice, tinned fish, cooking oil, soap,” he said.

He said store goods in the area were very expensive. But people never complained because they know it is expensive and takes a lot of effort to bring the goods to these distant areas.

“A K3 Digicel flex card is sold for K7, one kg rice for K7, a bar of laundry soap for K2.50, 250ml cooking oil for K5 and the list goes on,” he said.

He said public servants in urban centres were lucky compared to those who had to serve in the remote areas.

He urged MPs from these areas to visit these places and see for themselves what he is talking about.

“They talk about infrastructural developments, Vision 2050 and millennium development goals. How will we achieve all those plans and visions when some parts of the country have not seen any form of government service?

“I appeal to the national government, Jiwaka provincial government and local level government to help fix the roads for the 100,000 plus people from the electorate,” he said.