PNG GOVT HAS PLAYED " LIP SERVICE" TO DELIVER OKUK HIGHWAY

By Jacob Luke - Managing Director, Mapai Transport

The road washout at Wandi in the Chimbu Province has highlighted the inability of the PNG Government to act swiftly and meet the needs of the businesses and the people of Papua New Guinea. The financial restraints the Government is facing is obvious for all to see, despite the loud and glossy words that are being spoken by the senior ministers within the government.

Papua New Guinean people do not demand much and put up with services that are below par with very little complaint, so it is hard to understand why the government wouldn’t meet with the local landowners and negotiate a way forward to allow machinery onto the Wandi site and get the road open.

The road has been closed for 5 days with no way forward until I got involved and negotiated a settlement from our own company’s bank account and paid the landowners compensation. How can a government allow such a thing to take place? One would think with an election just around the corner, a minister in the government would want to be seen as the peacemaker and meet the demands of the local people effected by the landslip!

The government must take the step from talking about policies and the desire to repair and build infrastructure, to actually getting it done. It has been reported including travelling publics knowledge that only 3% of the Okuk Highway is in Good condition with the balance either Fair or Poor condition. While it’s true that there have been repairs done but the sheer amount of work that needs to be tackled is significant. 

This government along with previous governments have just played lip service to delivering a suitable highway, been given millions of Kina from donors and loans, but the delivery of this crucial piece of infrastructure has fallen well short of the money that has supposedly been spent.

As a company, Mapai Transport requires the road to be in a usable state, a state that doesn’t cause unnecessary damage to its vehicles, Mapai pays for the right to operate on the road through licences and fees. The costs of the repairs and maintenance to the vehicles are significant and are passed on directly to the cargo owners who in turn, pass on those costs to the end users – the people of PNG. The people of PNG deserve better.

The PNG Government must act in the best interest of PNG and make good solid financial decisions that help minimize these pressures. Transport and Logistics is not an easy business to be involved in, but after 26 years Mapai has made its path and will continue to push itself to be better. For Mapai to be successful, Mapai needs good solid leadership from the Government - Leadership that puts the country first before personal gain.

It’s time for leaders to stand up for what is right, not time to full themselves until overflowing, building monuments for themselves offering no value for the people of PNG – true leadership exhibits humility and servanthood, putting the welfare of others first, especially those adversely effected by events that they have no control over, such as the effected landowners at Wandi.

PNG needs good solid infrastructure, schools and hospitals that deliver reliable services to the average Papua New Guinean and those that can’t defend themselves. Having to rely on road contractors to work on credit and private citizens to pay for access on behalf of the PNG Government is shameful, and the senior ministers in the government should be ashamed of their efforts.
True leadership is earnt not demanded.
Thank you
Jacob Luke