Women urge government to address crime

WOMEN from the new Wau-Waria district in Morobe are urging the Morobe government to address the increase in crime against women in the province.
On Thursday, womenfolk in Wau town organised a rally inviting representatives from provincial government and the law and order sector to hear their plea.
High on the agenda as highlighted by local women’s representative Yanda Funumari was the need for effective policing to ensure law and order.
Funumari said Wau had gone from bad to worse and was no longer safe for women and girls and petitioned Assistant Police Commissioner Northern Command Peter Guinness for police intervention.
Another petition directed to the office of the provincial and district administrators noted the need for a hospital, water supply, road, market, banking services, vocational training school, a public library and their own district office.
She said since their run-down hospital was condemned last April, over 40,000 villagers throughout the new district had to access health services in Bulolo or Lae.
She also said the town had lacked adequate water supply for more than 15 years with locals sourcing water from rain or nearby rivers and streams.
Funumari said the town also had no banking facility, so people had to travel into Bulolo which was risky.
Funamari added that she has been an agent for Bank South Pacific in Wau for over five years now, just to provide another option for locals.