INDEPENDENCE Day for many of us is a time for celebrations, excitement and also reflection on the incredible journey we have progressed as a country since 16 September 1975.
We must be grateful and thankful for our founding fathers in the likes of Grand Chief Sir Micheal Thomas Somare, Sir John Guise, Sir Ebia Olewale, Sir Tei Abal, and Sir Maori Kiki and many others for laying the foundation of our statehood. It is something we must never take for granted.
For Kerema District, we like all other rural districts in Papua New Guinea also celebrated our country’s Independence Day in style across many of our communities.
Today the MP for Kerema Hon Thomas Opa, who is also the Minister for Petroleum & Energy visited his rural communities of Kaintiba LLG in the Kerema District to spend time with his people and share his message of hope on this important day.
The Kerema MP also presented 5 impact projects for Kaintiba LLG which included the following;
- Hawabango Health Centre – K250,000
- Keango Primary School Double Classroom – K200,000
- Kaintiba Coffee Project with 120 coffee Pulpers – K350,000
- Hambuini Elementary School – K100,000
- Bema High School – K200,000
The total funding for the 5 projects was K1.1 Million all funded under the Kerema District Services Improvement Program (DSIP).
The Minister also paid K500,000 to North Coast Aviation (NCA) in 2023 for the third level airline to provide subsidized airfare and freight for the mountain ports in Kaintiba, Kamina and Kanabea. Unfortunately the third level airline company has had issues with its fleet and not serviced its rural mountain ports in Gulf Province.
The Minister further presented close to K100,000 cash to the people of Kaintiba LLG to allow all the 15 wards to celebrate in the true spirit of Independence.
The people of Kaintiba were so delighted to be with their local MP as his presence uplifted their spirits and morale. The MP was also gifted with a portrait made out of coffee cherries as coffee remains the livelihood of our people in the hinterlands of Gulf Province.
The people of Kaintiba also used the occasion to thank the Marape-Rosso Government for not forgetting them and connecting them for the first time since 1975 to the rest of PNG under its flagship Connect PNG program. This has now made it easier and convenient for the people to travel to Wau, Bulolo, Aseki and Lae for services and to sell their coffee and produce.
