Rough terrain a major hindrance: GG

PAPUA New Guinea’s landscape makes it one of the toughest places in the Pacific to provide goods and services.
Governor-General Sir Paulias Matane told participants attending the 3rd Pacific Water and Waste Association (PWWA) conference on Monday that in a country such as PNG, infrastructure like roads, bridges, treated water and sanitation supplies could not be properly built because of the rugged geographical terrain.
“Papua New Guinea is rich and diverse and its unique ethnicity and difficult topography, coupled with the fact that 85% of the population live in rural areas makes it one of  the most difficult countries in the world to manage in terms of providing  health services, water and sanitation,” he said.
Sir Paulias gave examples of different water and sanitation needs of people in rural and urban PNG communities citing examples from Carteret Islands and the cholera-ravaged parts of NCD and Central.
He said the attitude and view of the people in the rural areas and their environment were different from those in the city, therefore, the water and sanitation needs of city dwellers and villagers were not the same.
Sir Paulias stressed that the Pacific region was blessed with abundance of clean-pristine waters for people to freely drink and use unlike many other countries where access to this basic human necessity was not available.
“Clean water in many nations is only a dream.
“We, in the Pacific region, are blessed with an abundance of pristine rivera, natural springs and cascading waterfalls which sustain our quality of life,” he said.