Prime Minister Hon. James Marape made an emotional visit to the landslide-affected area of Maip-Mulitaka LLG in Porgera-Paiela, Enga, on Friday, May 31, 2024.
Accompanied by Enga Governor Hon. Sir Peter Ipatas, Defence Minister Hon. Billy Joseph, and Hela Governor Hon. Philip Undialu, the Prime Minister met and talked to people affected by the May 24 disaster in which an estimated 670 people lost their lives and over 7800 were displaced.
During his visit, Prime Minister Marape provided K20 million to the Enga Provincial Government to address immediate disaster needs. Additionally, the Hela and Southern Highlands provincial governments contributed K1 million each. Prime Minister Marape expressed gratitude to the international terminal operator ICTSI South Pacific for its K1 million support.
“I express my heartfelt sorrow to the people of Maip-Mulitaka who lost loved ones in the disaster,” Prime Minister Marape said.
“Although I may be late, the government, through relevant departments and agencies like National Disaster Centre and PNG Defence Force, acted promptly in attending to the disaster.
“I thank the Enga Provincial Government of Governor Sir Peter and Provincial Administration of Sandis Tsaka, who, even if the landslide had occurred at 3am on Friday, responded immediately and by 8am, disaster work was already in progress.
“I also thank, on behalf of the affected people and the country, all the global friends of Papua New Guinea for their kind words and support.
“I thank our partner countries including Australia, New Zealand, USA, Japan, China, United Kingdom, Indonesia, France, Israel, South Korea, Phillipines, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Czech Republic and many others, United Nations, International Organisation for Migration and Pacific Islands Forum for responding very quickly to the disaster.
“I assure the people of Maip-Mulitaka, Porgera-Paiela, Enga, and Papua New Guinea that you are not alone in this difficult time.”
Prime Minister Marape assured the people of Maip-Mulitaka that the national government would work with the Enga Provincial Government in continuing relief and restoration work.
“Our focus should now be on relief, restoration, and reconstruction into the future,” he said.
“We will respect and follow whatever long-term plans of the Enga Provincial Government.”