Kokopo overhead bridge - a waste

THE proposed overhead bridge near the Kokopo maket because of traffic jam is not a good idea and a waste of money.
The Member for Kokopo Ereman ToBaining Junior has to provide statistics and facts to justify the spending of K400,000 on such a crossing.
Kokopo is a very small town compared to Port Moresby and Lae where there is a traffic jam for almost an hour at times.
Both these cities have overhead bridges and the traffic is many times more than Kokopo.
The overhead bridges in these two centres is not frequently used because of the steep climb up and down and the fact that they are always blocked by pickpockets street sellers,common thieves and beggars.It will also happen in Kokopo if one is built.
But why should we spend so much money on huge concrete objects when all our schools in the province are in run down conditions.
Woolnough, Raval Vocational schools and Vunamami Farmers Centre are in dire need of repairs and upgrading and here we are going to spend money on objects.
Nearly all schools are without librarys which are centres of learning which improves literacy.
All schools in the province are in dire need of repairs having being built in colonial times.
One would expect that that kind of money be spent renovating classrooms and teachers houses.
Even in Pomio District they need road connections to access towns and this sum of money should be spent there rather than a luxury overhead bridge.
Or the money should be spent on water supply projects for communities like on Matupit Island where they have struggled for water for so many years the worst during the last 17 years after the twin volcanic eruptions.
And these people continue to pay taxes through goods and services taxes like every body else who do not recieve any government services. Would a concrete overhead bridge pay tax?
East New Britain has one of the worst record of Human Resource Development. It does not pay for its students in Tertiary Institutions in the country and as a result some students have gone knocking on provinces who give scholarships to their students.
Since 2010 its Education standard dropped and there has not been any known effort to reverse the trend.
And in this years general elections 50% of eligible voters did not vote and in comparision mountaineous,rugged and over populated Chimbe only 1% did not vote.
This is a proof of illiteracy in the province and boils down to lack of education so why spend so much money on objects which we will never learn from or eat from when we are hungry.
There are cheaper ways of controlling traffic jams and flows by using solar powered traffic lights on all Zebra Crossings in Kokopo and Rabaul towns.
There are also solar powered street lights that can be used on Williams road and on all the streets in all our towns with no operating costs and minimal maintenance costs.
The Taiwanese Trade Show displayed all these lights in Port Moresby last week.
Solar lights will solve our traffic problem if any and will save money for other meaning full purposes. Everyone in the province should voice their concern on this absolute waste of money because it goes to prove nothing.

J.Paivu