PRIME MINISTER JAMES MARAPE VOWS TO TAKE BACK HELA FIRST WITH EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH, IMPROVEMENT IN BASIC SERVICES MEDIA RELEASE, OCTOBER 28, 2019. Post by The SUN of Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape thank the Opposition Leader Hon Belden Namah for being an advocate for “taking back Tari first”. Tari like all other districts in Hela , SHP, Enga , Gulf and Western Provinces have received little or no support from National Governments since their oil, gas, copper and gold were extracted since 1989. And, Tari District in Hela is no exception, in a district that is living within close proximity to Hides gas fields, Mt Kare and Porgera gold fields, Kutubu and Moran Oil fields. It is morally unacceptable that National Government over the last 30 years has given no major services to Tari , Hela and other resource areas for that matter. “What you see today in Tari and Hela is a result of neglect by government to give to resource owners what is their due. No new schools , no new hospitals , no provincial hospitals, no sealed major highways from Mendi into Tari and the project areas, no increase in police manpower from just under 60 police, close down of correctional services, no improved judicial services, no electricity, no banks. “The little service lights happening in Tari right now are my district work since 2007, with help from provincial government hence I appreciate Mr Namah’s concerns for Tari. He augments the need for PNG to see that key resource districts still lacks development” Prime Minister James Marape says. Today’s lawlessness in Hela is the result of absence of functional education, law and justice sectors where uneducated youthful population are resorting to crime, especially gun related murders. Government will work to address this in totality including looking at better development sharing formulas instead of just focusing on in few areas of PNG as it has been in the past. “ But, whilst I agree with Namah’s mischievous call that I need to ‘take back Tari first’, may I remind him that Tari is not whole of PNG, I have to look after Tari within the context of equal national wealth sharing so every part of this country is progressing. :All parts of our country have been left exposed to uneven distribution of key national impact projects and our Marape-Steven Government is now chattering a development pathway that embraces all parts of PNG instead of few selected urban areas as it has been in the past.” Prime Minister James Marape says. Ends// ———————-