Crowd welcomes PM in Arawa

By ZARA KANU in Arawa
PEOPLE turned up in numbers to Arawa, Bougainville, to welcome Prime Minister James Marape and his delegation for the launching of the Central Bougainville district five-year development plan 2023-2027 on Friday.
Central Bougainville MP Simon Dumarinu said the district plan was a set of goals that he and his administration will be working towards achieving by 2027.
“We have drawn out a plan based on five key sectors of governance, community development, law and justice, education and health. Economic development falls in between the plan.
“By this we are now asking the government to fund these projects so we can see development in the districts as well as the region as a whole,” he said.
People travelled from the three districts of Panguna, Kieta and Wakunai and the rest of Bougainville to witness the occasion.
The plan stands at K400 million and prioritises working towards achieving its goals of economic development through five sectors identified in the plan.
Marape said: “We must hold hands and reach the destination and in time we want to recover Bougainville to the place it was before the crisis but more importantly to a destination where there where you aspire to be and as people deserving development.
“I have gone through the plan and it has gone through due process with the key signatories signing off by the National planning secretary and Autonomous Bougainville Government chief secretary and other responsible members of the government.
“A plan is to guide us on the road to a destination from where we are, as a plan will tell you what to do and where to go in order to achieve that result or reach a destination.