Project scrapping irks former PNGSDP boss

FORMER PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP) chief executive officer David Sode says it is heartbreaking to see the K52 million Daru water and sewerage project scrapped.
He said this has resulted in the town having no proper water and toilet facilities.
Sode, who stepped down as CEO to become a board member, launched the water and sewerage project aimed at improving water and sewerage systems in June 2012.
However, the project and all PNGSDP operations came to a halt after the O’Neill Government expropriated the Ok Tedi mine in 2013.
People in Daru still use the outdated black bucket toilet system and have no reliable water supply.
Pipes procured for the project were recently burned in Daru.
Yesterday, the issue was raised at PNGSDP’s annual results meeting, after which Sode spoke about his sadness at seeing the project scrapped.
“We’ve put a lot of work in, an exceptional amount of K52 million,” he told The National.
“We could see the TB problems, the health problems in Daru.
“Something urgent had to be done.
“We were just 16 months away from completion and it was heartbreaking, heart-wrenching (to see the project scrapped).
“It’s heartbreaking, after a massive amount of work to make Daru a showcase.
“It’s tremendously sad that Daru doesn’t have a water reticulation system and a sewerage system.”