NEW PATROL GRADER TO OPEN UP ROAD ACCESS TO THREE GOILALA LLGS

REMOTE communities across Central Province’s Goilala District are set to benefit from improved road access following the acquisition of a new patrol grader by the Central Provincial Government.

Tapini LLG President Buni Morua welcomed the machinery, saying it will help open up isolated villages along the Tapini-Kerau feeder road, as well as key routes serving Guari and Woitape LLGs.

President Morua said the machine would help address longstanding road access difficulties faced by rural communities, particularly those living along the Tapini–Kerau feeder road and other neglected district road networks.

Speaking during a press conference on the arrival of the new machinery, Mr Morua said the initiative reflected a shared commitment between the Central Provincial Government, Goilala Open MP Hon. Casmiro Aia and the Tapini LLG leadership to ensure development reached people in remote communities.

President Morua says government development must extend beyond main centres to reach voters in isolated rural villages.

Welcoming a new patrol grader purchased by the Central Provincial Government, Morua noted the machine will complement ongoing upgrades on the 96-kilometre Mona Highway by improving the Tapini–Kerau feeder road alongside major routes serving Guari and Woitape LLGs.

Central Governor Rufina Peter says the project is part of a joint effort with Goilala Open MP Casmiro Aia to connect rural farmers to markets and essential services—including restoring government presence to Guari Station for the first time in 30 years with a new police post and agricultural buying point.

She highlighted the importance of restoring government presence in Guari LLG, where communities had reportedly gone without direct government services for approximately 30 years.

“By the time we open that road at Guari Station, it will be the first time in 30 years the people of Guari LLG will see government presence in the LLG,” she said.

The Governor said a police post and a two-bedroom police house were being constructed at remote Guari Station in Guari LLG, with plans to establish a buying point to bring the market closer to rural farmers.

“Immediately after we put the police post, we will establish a buying point there, so the market is present on site at Guari Station,” she said.

Governor Peter is also appealing to displaced Guari residents living in Port Moresby settlements, including the Rabia Gini community, to consider returning home as roads and economic opportunities reopen.

She also urged ward members to go back to their respective communities and mobilise residents to support the roadwork teams when the new patrol grader arrives in their villages.

The Governor said community participation would be important in ensuring the success of the road improvement programme and that the benefits of the new patrol grader reached the people who needed better access the most.