Porgera locals invest in coffee

THE people of Porgera in Enga will now focus on rehabilitating and generating income from coffee apart from awaiting royalty payments from the Porgera gold mine, the country’s biggest.
The people decided to come up with this idea because once the gold was finished they would switch to coffee as another major resource that could help them earn a living.
With the gold mine in place, people – especially landowners – have been depending on royalties from the mine but that benefit would end when the gold runs out.
Porgera cooperative society chairman Thomas Kulara said coffee must become the next main resource for people.
He said  to make this plan become successful the national and provincial governments, Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) and  Porgera Development Authority (PDA) must fund and support cooperative societies in the district so they can help the people when the mine wound down its operation.
Kulara said funds and support needed to be given to the coffee growers through the cooperative societies so that that could help maintain the cash flow and the lives of the people.
Kulara said whatever funds and support given would be very important.
The people needed the government, PDA and PJV to come to their aid to promote coffee in the district.
Porgera was very fertile and could produce more coffee once support was being given to it.
Kulara said this sustainable development plan to grow coffee was taken by the people themselves and that was why they wanted the government, PJV and PDA to come to their aid and fund it.
He said such plans and funding must be in place because maintaining the cash flow and building up the economy was important to the people and the country.