‘Take care of bridges’

 By HELEN TARAWA 
NORTHERN Governor Gary Juffa has called on his people to look after the infrastructure that the PNG and Australian governments have provided.
Speaking at the opening of three of four bridges under a 139 million project in Popondetta yesterday, Juffa said great things happened when people put aside their differences and worked together.
He commended the Australian government for its support for the bridges which were destroyed by Cyclone Guba in 2007.
Juffa said the province was still in need of many bridges after that 2007 disaster.
He said the Government had promised more than K400m to the province but only K20m was delivered.
Juffa called on the secretaries of Works and Transport to also look into the Afore Highway.
“We have a road to Afore that needs building and my provincial government will be pledging K1million towards this, but I will need your assistance,” he said.
“This road remains impassable and has been very difficult for the people of that area to bring their vegetables and their crafts.
“My people continue to suffer and our roads remain difficult to pass, especially during the rainy season. “Many of our small bridges still remain destroyed and out of the nine aerodromes only five are operating.”
Juffa told the people of Northern to manage their lands in a sustainable and responsible way.
“We are not a resource-rich province as far as the extractive industry is concerned, all we have is ourselves and our land so we must manage it in a sustainable manner.
“We must take care of our environment, forest, our rivers, seas, treat them with care and love and responsibility.
“We have to make sure that we leave something for our future generations when you are out carrying out whatever activities, be considerate of that.
“These bridges and other infrastructure will come about, they will encourage commerce, economics and business and other human activities.
“In building a province, a nation, a better tomorrow for our children, it’s about partnership, building bridges from where we are to where we want to go.”