Plan to snip ‘most feared city’ tag

*DAVID MURI of The National tells why Mt Hagen’s leaders have high hopes of changing its bad reputation*

MT Hagen is the third-largest city in the country. It is the fastest growing municipality and the hub of business, politics, tourism and agriculture in the Highlands.It also has a terrible reputation as a dirty, feared place.Its leaders hope to change that. Inter-Government Relations Minister Job Pomat recently announced that the city and Lae would be granted commission status once Cabinet approved it in Parliament. The city commission will function under an act of Parliament and that will mean more revenue collection, increased grants and budgetary allocations.

This does not happen under the authority status now. Being a commission will elevate the status of this bustling city.The hope is that its tag as the most feared destination in the country will be gone while trade and commerce will thrive.For that to happen, the city authority under the management of new manager Joe Kua has to get its house in order.Mr Kua must face the challenges that are invading the Highlands city on a daily basis.The task is huge by all accounts.

Yes, more cleaning and beautification process needs to be done in Mount Hagen City as this pic above shows - Pic by D.Ketepa

From a tiny town in the 1970s, it grew into a booming metropolis in the early ‘90s, experiencing its share of ups and downs. Mr Kua’s priority, therefore, is to make sure this city is a safe, convenient and an ideal location for all visitors and residents.Most importantly, business houses must have a sound environment to operate.

He feels that all stakeholders, including politicians, the provincial government, churches, institutions, the media and business houses, should play collective roles for the upkeep of the city.Signs have been positive as a result of action taken by his management team. Councillor Titus Doa, of Kerebug ward, has been elected lord mayor, replacing veteran Lukas Mek.As a first-timer, Mr Doa also has a daunting task ahead.

As a local Jika man, Mr Doa’s main job is to make sure armed hold-ups, pick-pocketing, street fights and street vending are events of the past. “These things have spoilt the image of this city,” he said.“Now we want to open our doors wide and involve every interested stakeholder to participate in the beautification programmes in the city.”Mr Doa said Mt Hagen was a city owned by the people of Papua New Guinea, adding that every citizen should play a part in its progress.

“This city is not owned by me or the city manager,” he emphasised during his appeal on local radio station 91.5 Eagle FM.“It belongs to you and your children.“Please look after it so that those coming after you can benefit from its existence.”Unpaid bills from local business houses, accumulating debts of hundreds of thousands of kina over the years, have been a major setback for the city authority while it sought to get basic projects up and running.

Mr Kua said the city’s beautification programmes, rules inspections, garbage collection and other menial tasks had been abandoned because of the backlog of unpaid wage claims.That has caused the city to be labeled the filthiest in the country for some time. Since assuming office, Mr Kua and Mr Doa have introduced an open-door policy, inviting schools, churches and institutions such as prisons to contribute manpower.

To boost this initiative, the city authority has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Correctional Services.This MoA has paved the way for low-risk prisoners to be involved in the beautification programme in the city. CS Commissioner Richard Sikani said the city authority’s initiative was in line with his department’s provincial engagement concept.The SDA church is another group that has offered help.

Its members started cleaning the city last Sunday and they intend to do this for some time.Prisoners will clean up every Tuesday and Thursday. The city authority has also merged with the rural council to curb escalating rate of crimes. Another big job is to dismantle illegal structures. Many outhouses, containers and tucker shops have been removed or demolished with the help of police in a week of massive operations recently to weed out containers.Mr Kua and Mr Doa have also persuaded many business houses to pay their rates on time.Many firms have come good to assist the authority.

The first to chip in was WR Carpenters, which last week presented a dump truck valued at K100,000. That truck is being used for rubbish collection.Mr Kua said that was a timely donation from a company committed to see this city grow.Taking note that the city’s population is growing rapidly ñ “swelling out of proportion” was how he described it ñ he said the city authority had massive challenges to protect its boundaries.“When the population grew from time to time, unmanageable social and economic problems also increased,” he said.

Some observers have commented the positive approach that Mr Kua and his lord mayor have shown the business community “is a pleasing sign, as businesses remain the backbone of the city’s growth”.Over the years, some local businessmen, spurred on by greed, have taken potentially profitable spots without proper documentation.Some have evaded trading licence fees and other commercial levies over the years.

Mr Kua said some legal battles to recoup lost revenue were still pending.Other businesses, fortunately, are trying to pay.He reiterated: “Local businessmen who owe the authority should make an attempt to pay their rates so that basic services can be restored.”Now it remains to be seen how the city will cope with the predicted rise in law and order problems.With Mr Doa as the one spearheading law enforcement, criminals are on notice.To achieve this most important objective, however, the police need to be reminded what their duty is: Protect lives and property.



*** This is a good approach for those who are concerned about the escalating law and order situation in Mount Hagen, WHP. The Mount Hagen City Authority needs full cooperation from all sectors of the community to make the city a better place to live, work, and enjoy life. I urge the companies who operate out of Mount Hagen to chip in to help the city authority in it's efforts to beautify the city. Great job! WR Carpenters - a way to go for other companies to follow your footsteps.

I commend the foresight and auspicious of the new administration of Mr. Doa and his entourage. Let's hope that Mount Hagen will retain it's repetition as it was in the 1990s. Please, make Mount Hagen a better place! Until the mess is cleaned up, Mount Hagen will be feared by locals and visitors alike to do business, live, and enjoy life.