Wind of change blowing in Tsak Valley

By GIBSON GEORGE TORASO
WAPENAMANDA district in Enga had lacked development since the time of the former MP Sir Pato Kakaraya who served from 1972 to 1987.
Whatever had been built then slowly fell apart over the years. MPs after him had very little success in restoring the district to the times when things looked better – just before and following independence in 1975.
Consecutive MPs had promised to bring certain changes that would help get their people out of the rudimentary and austere lifestyles, made rigid by the lack of basic government services. But this didn’t happen.
In the past five years, however, the lull of inactivity has been broken by local MP Rimbink Pato who is literally making inroads into places where once only bush and mountains reigned, with new roads. New schools are now going up where none stood before.
As a child growing up in the Tsak local government (LLG) area, a vast valley which is now feeling the impact of developments, I still have vivid memories of a place where government houses and services and even roads, built during colonial days, seemed to be decaying and deteriorating at will.
Travelling to the neighbouring Lower Lai constituency was nearly impossible because the roads had become tracks that took longer than usual to walk because the bush had overtaken them or deep trenches caused by rain had developed.
For the nearly 40,000 people of Lower Lai, it used to take more than a day to reach Wapenamanda, the main government station, on foot. It was the same for the people of Tsak.
Even though the busy Highlands Highway that connects the Highlands provinces to Lae and Madang runs through the district station, to get to and from the highway to their villages had difficulties with no road connections. Basic health, education and government services were almost lacking. Not much business activity could take place.
Pato, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, is not keen on talking to the media about projects that are coming up in his electorate. But one thing he is making sure of is that services are reaching his people.
I tried to discuss with him few years ago on the phone what he was doing and tried to tease out plans that he had for his electorate.
He politely refused to comment saying it was for his people to vouch on developments there.
“I have election promises to the people and you must be clear that I was not voted by all Papua New Guineans, I was voted by the little people in the electorate and they see and know what I am doing for them,” Pato said in his first term as MP.
And change is truly happening in the district. Roads and bridges have changed the landscape of the electorate for good and the MP is investing heavily in health and education infrastructures.
A feasibility study is underway in Tsak for hydro power for the LLG. If all goes well, people will have electricity connected to their homes for the first time in 40 years.
Along with the million-kina Tsak hydro feasibility study, the Wapenamanda MP has allocated K11 million and promised to add another K4 million for Lower Lai and K15 million for Tsak for the feeder road which is undergoing sealing despite funding challenges.
The Wapenamanda town re-development programme also joins the list of ongoing projects in the district which includes the new Wapenamanda court house and police station as well as the building of the Western Highlands-Enga border police station.
While presenting his 2014 District Services Improvement Project (DSIP) funding acquittals to the Department of Implementation and Rural Development recently, Pato is reported to have said that unused funds carried over from the 2013 budget would be used to complete some projects before the 2017 general election.
The people in the electorate, wearied by years of neglect, are starting to realise and accept that things really are brightening up and could be the signal for life-changing times ahead for them in the next five years that Pato will be at the helm.
A fundamental change is happening in Wapenamanda.
With more children being able to go to school, better health services and easier and safer travel now possible, the more than 70,000 people of the electorate can move around better, openly exchange ideas, contribute to the economy and not feel so isolated anymore.
For their MP, change is already happening.