Boundaries need looking into

THIS is a renewed call for the Government to make legislative amendments to National Capital District’s electoral boundaries.
Otherwise, just make whatever changes necessary for a merger of the existing three electorates: Moresby North-East, Moresby North-West and Moresby South into two and renamed.
Simple logic justifies this change.
National Capital District is a mountainous savannah grassland that hosts the gateway to the nation.
The three NCD electorates neither hold economic value in terms of land-based resources, nor an entirely indigenous and working class population.
It’s rather a growth of settlements with migrants, opportunists and unemployed idlers.
As it is, huge amounts of money in triple digit millions are pumped into infrastructure development in these electorates, portions of which host breeding grounds for lawlessness and crime problematic for the capital city.
You and I want the capital city to be an attractive modern city for the world to see – a seat of government, a home of embassies for our development partners and an investment destination for APEC member countries.
You also know that international partners, donors and investors have heavily invested in the city’s impressive infrastructures, in businesses, in education and social services.
But where is fairness?
Do we have a yardstick to measure the rate of development and change proportionate to real needs of the four regions of the country?
I said before that the rate of change in the country is lopsided.
The development of Port Moresby isn’t reflected in the provinces and districts countrywide.
The case in point is the lengthy Kairuku-Hiri district which is lagging behind in development when the country’s metropolis is established and growing on their soil.
Peter Isoaimo, the local MP and lone voice, keeps calling for a split for Kairuku-Hiri electorate.
But the calls keep falling on stony grounds time and again, like the Biblical parable of seed sowing.
If and when Isoaimo’s pleas fall on good ground, it will be like NCD spreading its own wings into the length and breadth of Central, which will be an ideal platform for more tangible progress in the Southern region.

MM Ondassa
Taurama, NCD