Northern has become the first province to put aside money to respond quickly to possible disasters.
The Oro Joint Provincial Planning and Budget Priority Committee approved 1-million kina for for the disaster-prone province, saying the government's major responsibility is to save the lives of its people. Oro has had more then its fair share of disasters with the largest ever being the eruption of Mount Lamington in 1951, which saw massive destruction of property and loss of more then 5-thousand lives. In 2007, the Province was again devastated by floods and Cyclone Guba, which saw the loss of 200 lives and destruction of roads and bridges, that are yet to be repaired due to poor leadership, corruption and mismanagement of funds. Governor Juffa has promised to make sure his province is better prepared to respond to disasters if, and when they occur. "What we did was, we paid up front. "We put a portion to an airline company so that they can make transportation available immediately, there's a portion made available for water, shelter and food and a Disaster Management team from the Red Cross. "There's also funds available for provincial officers so that they can carry out assessment and respond in real time. "We are doing this every year. "K1m may not be enough, but its just that at least we must have something in place to be able to save lives. "The fundamental responsibility of any government is to save lives," Governor Juffa said. Governor Juffa is also keen to build a Disaster Management Centre in 2014 and have it fully equipped and staff trained. Comments are closed.
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