Team get to see Wewak’s sites despite aborted tour

A ONE-day Apec regional trip to Wewak on Tuesday did not go down as planned, however, delegates did have a chance to come out of the Boram Airport.
East Sepik administrator Dr Clement Malau said there was no funding allocated for the visit.
He said a provincial executive committee chaired by Governor Allan Bird to oversee and coordinate events in the province was not briefed.
Despite that, the 10 delegates on arrival at Boram Airport, including executive-director of Apec Secretariat Dr Alan Bollard, visited the beach and craft markets.
They were taken for an hour’s road tour from Boram Airport to Wewak Hill and back, stopped at Meni Beach and proceeded to Chambri Informal Markets before flying back to Port Moresby.
“I want to apologise to the Apec organising committee, particularly the delegates,” Malau said.
“We have not been able to pull it off, as we should have.
“We had all our people organised up until the last minute.
“Right now, sadly, what I am realising it that our image may be tarnished.
“We admit that.”
Malau said assessments made by the committee was not to allow for the trip considering security issues “plus the fact that we also have a very serious financial situation and we are managing that with no resources at all, even in our banks as promised”.
Apec Coordination Authority chief executive officer Chris Hawkins told the media on arrival in Port Moresby on Tuesday that the regional visits outside of the city were part of the programme of delegates experiencing the diverse PNG.
“There is only so much money to go around to pay for visits and everything,” he said. “We look at what’s required to make visits a success to individual areas.
“The budget was allocated as it was.”