Siassi islanders do not need another boat

 The decision by the Tewae/Siassi District Development Authority to purchase a second ship or boat for the district as advertised in the newspapers should not go unchallenged..

I would imagine that the Tewae/Siassi District Development Authority (DDA) comprised the Member for Tewae/Siassi as the Chairman, the presidents of Wasu, Sialum and Siassi and the district’s chief executive officer. 

One of their meetings may have decided to buy a passenger boat.

Certainly, someone in the meeting should have asked, “Is it necessary to buy a second boat or have we already got a “MV Lady Zeming” purchased from our District Services Improvement Program (DSIP) money who is still yet to prove its worth to serve the people of Tewae Siassi?” 

The people of Tewae/Siassi have yet to see the impact of an improved transportation system from their DSIP money used for the purchase of the MV Lady Zeming.

There is also the Business Arm of the Tewae/Siassi DDA called the Tewae/Siassi Group Limited.  May the people of Tewae/Siassi  know who the Directors are, the beneficiaries which I assume will include the District and its three (3) LLGs of Wasu, Sialum and Siassi, who will run the operations of this Boat and finally of course what name does the meeting give to this Boat.

If it is an essential economic driven asset for the people of Siassi I would welcome its purchase wholeheartedly. 

The idea is great but is it a feasible proposition or should DDA give it serious consideration as it may become a liability to the district. 

MV Lady Zeming is currently run by Morobe Coastal Shipping, so are we buying another boat from our DSIP money for Morobe Coastal Shipping. 

We may have a transport problem but having MV Lady Zeming is all we need for now and must be utilised properly to service the Tewae/Siassi coastal routes. 

There are coffee, cocoa, copra and fish that can be commercially transported out from Tewae/Siassi to Lae by MV Lady Zeming, yet we see very little movements of the boat around the Tewae/Siassi coastal routes.

Whilst the DSIP has surplus money of K10million to buy another Boat, the recent drought had revealed a serious lack of Government Services in all sectors. 

The requirements for the means to access water and food for our many remote villages in the Tewae and Siassi areas are non-existent.

Trucks and small sea craft are also essential means of transportation during the emergency periods to deliver food and water supplies and to move the sick to Health centres.  These too are non-existent.

The climate change has caused permanent erosion to many atoll villages on the Siassi group of islands and the shores of the main Umboi Island, yet no consideration is given to the DSIP or PSIP budgets for remedial or preventative works such as sea walls or reclamation to deter erosion. 

Mangi Mandok, Via email