Remote areas need roads

Letters

ROAD brings diverse development as a package to distribute services to the rural and remote areas.
Where there is no road, how can government services reach the populations in remote areas?
Since independence, many remote parts of Papua New Guinea still lack basic services.
People have been crying for services such as roads, health centres, schools and markets for many decades.
In this developing nation, road is the key service that can open doors for other basic services such as electricity, school, health centre, etc…
The Government should focus on funding new roads to links all the remote parts of the country.
Some people in remote areas do not know how to travel on vehicles, airplane and ship.
Some do not know how to speak or write in tok pisin or English.
An example is the people from Rulna in the remote Dei District of Western Highlands.
Some have not seen a vehicle.
Those who want to travel to town for shopping usually save up for months.
After saving enough money, they walk for a day from Rulna to the Kotna district centre, sleep take PMV to trevel to Hagen the next morning.
Some families go without store goods such as salt, cooking oil, soap or torch for days, weeks, months or even a year.
The most heart breaking part is to see the sick or injured being carried by men on their shoulders from Rulna to Kotna to seek medical treatments.
Some people die on the way.
This is not only common in Rulna but other remote areas too. When will government services reach these places?
Is it fair that people in remote areas are struggling daily?
It is unfair that people in urban areas benefit from the government’s services while people in unreachable remote areas are suffering.
The previous governments did nothing much for the remote people.
Hence, with this government’s slogan to “Take Back PNG”, please build more roads. When taking back PNG, take back people in remote areas too.
Build roads to remote areas so that everyone can have excess to manage themselves and get proper services.
When it comes to the economy, the Government values land, agriculture, culture and tourism as money.
How could remote people in the rural areas contribute to the economy without roads? When there is roads, people can have access to sell their crops at markets.
The money earned could be used to support their family and help their children reach higher levels of education.
We urge the government to prioritise on building roads in rural areas.
Building roads to link rural areas is taking back PNG.

Philip Napil
The Voice of PNG