Youths ready for change

UP to 80 youths from Northern have promised to do away with things that will bring trouble to their communities.
The youths, from five villages in Kokoda, surrendered their homebrew-making equipment and firearms to PPC Supt Michael Welly and community leaders at Ajeka village on Monday.
Supt Welly said the youths surrendered the homemade guns, stating that they wanted to change.
He said eight gas bottles and 16 homemade guns were surrendered.
Among other things surrendered were three 12-gauge rounds, one point 22 rounds, three masks, one police-issue gas canister and five 50-calibre rounds.
Supt Welly said the youths also called on the Government to create employment opportunities for them and to provide school fee assistance and other Government services.
However, he urged them not depend on the Government.
“If places like Maprik, in East Sepik, can grow vanilla which is less laborious than oil palm, you must think twice and start planting and stop depending on oil palm,” he told them.
“Learn to till the soil because we have fertile soil here.”
Meanwhile, Supt Welly said a female village court magistrate called on village court houses to be set up in the ward area so that petty offences were dealt with at the ward level.
He supported the call, saying important court functions needed to be active at ward level to address issues at that level before they escalated.