By CHRISTOPHER YANDAWAI
THEY say dreams are free and anyone is be able to dream about whatever he or she desires, however, only a few can attain the pinnacle of their imaginations.
Even our elected Members of Parliament (MPs) have big dreams about what they want to deliver or achieve for their constituents, however, it boils down to how they play their cards.
This includes putting people first in the line of their duties and being optimistic about succeeding, achieving and fulfilling their goals.
In many instances, we perceive our MPs not doing enough to deliver vital government services that we deserve as the voters.
One may say it could be because of not enough funding from the government or unequal distribution of District Support Improvement Programme (DSIP) funding (DSIP), Provincial Support Improvement Programme (PSIP) funding or other development grants.
Nevertheless, you have to be smart, with good management skills and being considerate – that’s what it takes to be a visionary leader for the people.
In the 11th Parliament of Papua New Guinea, we have been fortunate to have few visionary leaders who have really understood the living standards of the people they represent and worked to deliver what they believe is best for the people’s benefit.
One such leader is Telefomin MP and Works and Highways Minister Solan Mirisim.
Since he was first elected into parliament in 2012, Mirisim has been struggling to bring government services into his remote district due to no road connectivity.
Telefomin has had no single road connection since creation, with the only mode of transport being air transport.
No one knew that this humble son of Telefomin had a dream to connect Telefomin by road and today he is proud to see his dream become a reality.
Mirisim had this dream even before he first raised his hands to contest the 2012 National General Elections (2012 NGE).
It was a long-time dream coming for the disconnected, isolated and unserved people of Telefomin district in West Sepik Province.
Having experienced first-hand the disadvantages of no connectivity while growing up, the humble Telefomin local defined his dream into a policy to contest the 2012 NGE.
Mirisim received massive support from the people of Telefomin for the policy and had him elected into the parliament in 2012.
He has advocated the policy throughout his tenure in parliament. In fact, the 2022 election victory was a milestone achievement for Mirisim as it ensure the survival and realisation of that boyhood dream.
True to his campaign promise, Mirisim never wasted time pursuing his goal when in 2013 he initiated Tabubil-Telefomin road project and brought the project proposal before the National Executive Council (NEC).
The NEC, during O’Neill Government, approved the project the same year and it was officially launched in 2014 with initial funding allocation of K5 million.
However, delays in funding and politicking derailed the start of construction. This did not bother Mirisim as he vigorously pushed for the road project to get up and running.
After about three years laybacks, Mirisim took a high level delegation, accompanied by Prime Minister James Marape, to re-launch the 80-kilometre Tabubil-Telefomin road project in May 2018.
Mirisim acknowledged the Marape-Rosso Government for announcing the start of actual construction phase of the road in 2019, with full expenditure funding package of K145 million under the OTML Tax Credit Scheme.
After five hard years, Minister Mirisim is now close to see his dream being fulfilled when the Tabubil-Telefomin road reaches Telefomin Station in a few months’ time.
Currently, the road is at Urapmin, 13 kilometres out of Telefomin Station.
This is one of the identified “missing link” roads under the Marape-Rosso Government’s Connect PNG programme.
Once the road riches Telefomin station, it will progress into Oksapmin then to Kopiago, Hela Province.
On January 19, Mirisim took a government delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso, to Urapmin village to officially open the road from Tabubil to Urapmin for public use.
Rosso unveiled the road in the presence of the Telefomin people.
The event coincided with the launching of Urapmin-Tifalmin road project and Telefomin Five-Year Development Plan 2023-2027.
The Urapmin to Telefomin Station road is expected to be delivered before or in early September this year.
Minister Mirisim said roadworks from Tabubil to Urapmin took some time due to the rugged terrain.
He commended everyone who took part in making the impossible possible.
“Thank you to the hardworking employees of contractor IPZ Limited, the Marape-Rosso Government, the management of Ok Tedi Mine Limited and the Department of Works and Highways for making this road possible,” Mirisim said.
He urged the Telefomin people to take ownership of the road and prepare to embrace other government services presented by the road connectivity.
