SOGERI DOE ROAD NEEDS URGENT ATTENTION

By Sandra ULG

The Sogeri to Doe Road in Koiari LLG of Hiri Koiari District, Central Province is in a very poor condition and was neglected since independence.

This 45-kilometer Doe Road is part of the Sir Hubert Murray Highway starting from Konedobu all the way to the end of Ruburu village.

Local Community Leader Mr. Oga Erehe says after PNG gained Independence the rubber plantations along the Doe Road ran down and were abandoned. This led to the deteriorating condition of the road from that time till now.

He says it is almost 50 years now and no attention has been received from all levels of Government including the authorities within the Central Provincial Administration. This road is totally neglected, forgotten and ignored for almost 50 years now.

He adds that this road needs to be fixed for accessibility because of the potential for agriculture, tourism and mining in the area.

He says for the last 40 years basic Government services have been affected due to the deteriorating road condition, schools and Aid posts are in the bush and are run down.

He is calling on the Central Governor Rufina Peter and Member for Hiri Koiari Keith Iduhu on behalf of the Doe people and the entire road users in between Sogeri to Doe for them to work together and fund the road.

Mr. Erehe is also appealing to the Prime Minister James Marape to critically look into this road and fund it as there are thousands of Tari and Kopiago settlers using this road. Also appealing to Politicians of Morobe Province as there are thousands of Morobeans who settled there for more than four decades who use this road to fix this Sogeri Doe road.

In the meantime, Mr. Erehe says the locals are now using their own resources to build the road with assistance from Golden Peak Limited currently working back-to-back to building infrastructure such as roads and bridges.