By GABRIEL KATUHO
A TOTAL of 51 enumerators for Voitape Local Level Government (LLG) in Goilala District, Central Province, began their airlift to the district yesterday for a 10-day mission to conduct a census.
The enumerators have been organized into 17 teams assigned to cover the LLG’s 14 wards.
The Sunday Bulletin spoke with Voitape LLG Census Coordinator, Mr Philip Ava, who provided an overview of the team deployment.
“I have 14 wards. Ward 1 has two teams, Ward 2 has one team, Ward 3 has one team, Ward 4 has one team, and Wards 5 to 7 share one team,” he explained.
“Ward 8 has two teams, Ward 9 has one team, Ward 10 has one team, and Wards 11, 12, and 13 each have one team. Ward 14 has two teams, making a total of 17 teams.
Sixteen teams were airlifted yesterday and this morning, with the final team scheduled to depart Port Moresby tomorrow via Fireland helicopters.
“Teams have been deployed to Sirima (Ward 1) and Dilava or Godike (Ward 14) by helicopter, and this morning, four teams arrived in Lower Vetapu,” Ava said.
“Yesterday, three teams arrived via Kobio Aviation for Ivani (Ward 8), Voitape Station (Ward 11), and Fane (Ward 13) teams will travel tomorrow.”
Ava coordinated the teams for a 10-day enumeration exercise in the field, with plans for airlifting them back to Port Moresby on the 11th to 12th day. The LLG’s remoteness, along with its challenging topographical and geographical conditions without connecting roads between wards, caused logistical delays for the census operations.
Despite the setbacks, Ava remains optimistic: “Although we are behind schedule, we aim to complete the job within 10 days. An additional two days will be used for final checks before returning to Port Moresby.”
The National Statistics Office allocated 14-days for Woitape LLG, but Ava is determined to complete the mission in 10 days.
“If necessary, we will prioritize accurate counting over the timeline,” he said, stressing the importance of comprehensive data for effective government planning and service delivery.
“We faced logistical challenges due to inadequate support from the National Statistics Office, but thanks to funding support from Central Governor Rufina Peter and Goilala MP, we could proceed with the census exercise.
“It’s unfair that other areas with better access manage to proceed on time while remote LLGs like ours face delays,” he expressed.
“Despite these challenges, I am committed to ensuring every resident is counted without exclusion.”
