Road to link Unavi

THE villagers of remote Unavi constituency in the Lufa district of Eastern Highlands province will have their dream of a good access road realised soon.
Lufa MP Yawa Silupa has allocated K2 million to rehabilitate a 50km stretch from Lufa station to Unavi Crater mountain, serving about 20,000 people.
The Unavi mountain range features the much talked about Mount Crater gold mine on the border of the southern fringes of Eastern Highlands (Lufa) and Karamui in Simbu province.
Schools, aid posts, agriculture extension programmes and other Government services came to a complete stop several years ago as public servants, including teachers and community health workers stopped going to Unavi due to terrible road conditions.
Lufa district administrator Peter Gare announced Mr Silupa’s allocation of K2 million in counter-part funding at Lufa Primary School on Tuesday.
He told the people, public servants and teachers who gathered to witness an opening of a new school library that Mr Silupa’s first priority is to get the Unavi people reconnected by road.
“The road is the key to facilitate the flow of other services like education, health, religion, agriculture, economic activities and addressing of law and order problems.
“When the road is opened, other services will fall in line, people will be able to bring their produce and coffee to the markets,” Mr Gare said.
He however, did not disclose how much the National Government and ADB put towards maintaining the road.
The Lufa Station-Unavi road via Gouno area was built in the colonial days but was left to deteriorate after years of neglect by successive governments.
He said the Frigano, Gotomi and Lufa High School roads will also be rehabilitated with a K4 million allocation by the Lufa Joint District Budget and Priority Committee (JDBPC) headed by Mr Silupa.