Prime Minister, James Marape yesterday indicated that East Sepik Provincial Member, Allan Bird was not ‘concentrating on delivering services to the people of East Sepik, but has chosen instead to talk politics.’
PM Marape revealed that East Sepik Province had carried over more than K100 million from 2021, 2022, and 2023 into 2024 because of the failure by Governor Hon. Allan Bird to oversee the full implementation of three East Sepik provincial budgets.
In a media statement the Prime Minister gave the statistics to justify his statement.
PM Marape said, “It must be pointed out that the East Sepik Provincial Government has received more funds than many other provincial governments.
“However, last year, Governor Bird carried over K100 million from more than three years (2021, 2022, and 2023), funds which have been rolled over into the 2024 budget because of his lack of leadership to utilise these funds fully in his
province.
“Governor Bird might have the gift of gab and loves to listen to himself speak, but he has done very little for his province. His budget implementation speaks for itself. The records are here.
“All he can do is cover up his ineffectiveness as a leader of East Sepik by making a scene on social media.”
PM Marape said the East Sepik governor has no appreciation for the support rendered by the National Government to his province in normal times and during times of disaster, also pointing out the Governor’s failure to implement a big-scale European Union-approved cocoa program in 2019.
“In 2019, I approved a big program approved by the European Union that had been sitting and waiting at the Department of National Planning. My decision was because the program was in line with our rural people empowerment focus of government through agriculture. To complement this, we gave K5 million in 2021 to him to do land mapping of the Sepik plain to develop full agriculture and agricultural industries.
“But he did not sit in his province to follow through and do this work.
“How can you be a national advocate of good governance, economic development, creating employment, so on and so forth, when in your own province you cannot make it happen?” asked Prime Minister Marape.
The Prime Minister said East Sepik needs roads to be improved, aid posts and health centres fixed, and schools renovated, while the East Sepik Provincial Health Authority has been asking for funding support.
“Instead of doing all these, Governor Bird is busy playing national politics, unfortunately, at the expense of his people.
“I have no time for those who are not willing to help themselves but keep shouting out to the public as if they doing work in their province,” said Prime Minister Marape.
The Prime Minister said the Marape-Rosso Government is doing its part for East
Sepik Province, and needs Governor Bird to complement these efforts with detailed work on the ground.
The Prime Minister highlighted the counterpart funding support given by his government to construct the world-class Boram hospital, including staff housing and seawall.
Other projects being financially supported by the National Government include rehabilitation of the Wewak-Maprik road which is now at contract-signing stage; the construction of the Wewak-Aitape road, which, over the next five years, will connect Vanimo in Sanduan Province.
A tender will soon be out for the construction of the Passam-Angoram road. An inland road connecting Maprik to Nuku is also being planned, to be funded by the National Government.
“These are the work happening for East Sepik with or without Governor Allan Bird. So he really must sit down in his province – not live out of Port Moresby but be based in East Sepik and run his province.
“East Sepik Province has a big potential in agro-industries, and the Governor needs to assist us move whatever he is talking about. We have given him a hand in the agriculture sector, but he must make it work.
“He has the right to speak but he needs to practise what he is preaching,” said PM Marape.
