THE people of remote Ioma and greater Binandere in the Tamata Rural Local Level Government (LLG) area in Sohe District, Oro Province have marked a historic milestone following the establishment of Ioma High School together with the commissioning of a newly completed four-in-one double classroom and other major infrastructure investments.
Sohe Mp, Henry Jons Amuli officially made the announcement of Ioma High School and opened the new classroom on Friday, 8 May 2026 in the presence of senior education officials from Oro Division of Education, students, teachers, Sohe District Development Authority (SDDA) board members and administration staff, community leaders, chiefs and local Binandere who came in huge numbers to witness the occasion.
The classroom facility funded by the Sohe DDA at a cost of K1 million and successfully constructed by Mabosi Building Supplies was the first of its kind for such a project to be delivered in the area which is so remote and accessed only by planes, boats and foot tracks.
Speaking at the ceremony, Amuli described the occasion as a significant achievement for the remote Binadere people who for the first time since Independence will now have access to a high school within their own community.
“We deliberately allocated K1 million for this project simply because access to education is a real challenge here with no high school in the area and the entire Tamata LLG for the last 50 years,” Amuli said.
He said the school would now create opportunities for children in the remote area who previously had limited access to higher levels of education.
“Our children who never had the opportunity before will now be able to progress from elementary to primary, then to high school and secondary school, and eventually enter tertiary institutions going forward,” Amuli said.
He said since Ioma is a new high school, Sohe DDA will continue to make available funding every year for school infrastructures until the school is fully equipped with all the necessary learning facilities that are required in compliance with national education standards.
For this year, he announced an additional K1 million support packages which include K500,000 for the construction of a library and another K500,000 for a science laboratory to support quality learning and academic development. Official groundbreaking ceremony was also held for the new project to commence.
Apart from education, he also announced K500,000 for the construction of the Tamata Council Chamber and another K500,000 for maintenance work on the Ioma Health Centre.
He said funding for both projects would soon be released to the contractor, with construction expected to be completed and commissioned before December this year.
In another major announcement, Amuli confirmed a further K1 million allocation for the construction of the Ioma Digicel communications tower to improve telecommunications access and connectivity for the remote community.
He said funding for the tower project would also be released immediately, with the communications tower expected to be completed and commissioned together with the other infrastructure projects by December.
Amuli said it is very challenging to deliver basic services to very remote and isolated communities because the costs are four to five times higher than the cost of similar projects in areas accessed by roads.
“Despite these challenges, under my leadership we are taking strict control with prudent management of the limited funds we receive from the government to try and deliver services to areas that have never seen government services before.
“Delivering projects worth more than K5 million to remote Ioma and the Binandere people is a testament to our commitment at Sohe DDA,” Amuli said.