New machines for Unggai

By LULU MARK WALKING for four to five days to get to the nearest road to get on a vehicle to town and access services will be a thing of the past for the people of Wesan in Unggai-Bena, MP Kinoka Feo says. “There has been no road to Wesan in the Upper Bena local level government at the border of Madang and Eastern Highlands since independence,” he said. Last Wednesday, Feo and the Unggai-Bena development authority (DDA) team presented the payment for seven machines that would be used to build the road from Megabo to Wesan to the Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) Co Ltd in Port Moresby. He said these machines included two excavators, two dump trucks, a grader, roller and bulldozer. “During the campaign period the people of Wesan were promised that a road will be built and it is happening,” he said. “We did the deposit already and (XCMG) we want the delivery to be made quickly so that we can start the work before Christmas. “This will be a Christmas present to the people in the village. Feo said the aim of the DDA was to purchase 21 machines, seven for each LLG, so there were 14 more to purchase for the Lower-Bena and Unggai LLGs. “Between now and next year, we will ensure to get all those machines,” he said. “This purchase is made two-and-a-half months after the elections. “We thank God for the blessings and the funding support of close to K8 million from the Government, we are using some for the roads.” Feo said the machines would be used to build new roads, and rehabilitate and maintain old roads. He said the district was going big with agriculture and road network and accessibility was important. He said the district’s village-based population should get on a truck at their doorstep and that can be motivation enough to venture into agriculture.