IHU AIRSTRIP RESTORED

The people of Ihu now have a safer choice of travel with the restoration of the Ihu airstrip after almost 17 years. The people of Ihu were very happy and shouted and cheered with tears of joy as the aircraft approached and landed on the airstrip signaling the restoration of this vital service.

On board were Rural Airstrip Agency officials who partnered with the Kikori District Development Authority and the surrounding communities to restore the Ihu Airstrip.

Initial work started in 2018 for both Ihu and Baimuru airstrips. Over half a million kina was spent to enable this project to be completed.

Below is an extract of the Member for Kikori Hon. Soroi Eoe's congratulatory note to the staff and people of Ihu.

.."Good work everyone! Congratulations to you all for work well done. My sincerest gratitude and appreciation goes to all our people on the ground ably led from front by Ward Members, Hurua Kerere, Joseph Koravea and Steven Karai. Sorry l was unable to come ..... but l plan to come down very soon. My trip will enable me to officially open the Airstrip and launch both Kerema/Ihu/Kikori Road Project and ISEZ Project. I plan to invite either the PM, DPM or Minister Works. God bless you all. Minister Eoe (MP-Kikori)"

 

The office of the Member for Kikori hopes to open the Baimuru airstrip by the end of the year.

 https://fb.watch/1vqporAysJ/

PRESS STATEMENT - MEMBER FOR KIKORI "CLEARS-THE-AIR" ON FALSE INFORMATION

The Office of the Member for Kikori and the Ihu Special Economic Zone (ISEZ) Project Office would like to take this opportunity to;

Firstly, on behalf of the people of Kikori, I would like to thank the National Executive Council for two important approvals given to the ISEZ project. First approval was given on 24th April 2019, Decision No. 95/2019 under O’Neill Government approving the ISEZ project concept to be developed further. Second approval was given recently on 25th August 2020. Decision No. 269/2020 under Marape-Steven Government. Several important considerations were approved including;

(a) establishment of ISEZ project as an important economic impact project to be developed and the project development office,

(b) engage with project development partner in consultation with SEZA,

(c) multi-user Critical Capital Infrastructure Projects (CCIP) which includes; deep-sea port, airport, roads, water supply, power supply and industrial township,

(d) PIP funding of K20 million annually for a total of K100 million being K5 million for annual operations budget and K15 million for site preparation, land mobilization (social mapping, landowner identification, ILGs registration, surveying), Environmental Impact Statement study, project feasibility study, physical planning and,

(e) release of K2 million as per 2020 Budget under Department of Commerce and Industry and an additional K3 million from the SEZ Program PIP Allocation.

Secondly, we would like to establish some historical facts behind the ISEZ project, the journey began in 2015 with proposal for a Gulf Gas Hub to cater for the “No Pipeline” Policy Initiative of the former Governor for Gulf Havila Kavo. In 2017, the new MP for Kikori, Hon. Soroi Eoe and the Kikori DDA board resolved, to take a different but practical approach to achieve the same same vision, that is to build an industrial township in Kikori where all downstream processing and exports will take place based on vast natural resource of the district and region. This highly technical work was contracted to Direco Services Limited which was formerly engaged by Gulf Provincial Government to develop the Gulf Gas Hub proposal.

Direco Services Limited is a company owned by Peter Kengemar and associates.

We would like to clarify for the public certain misconceptions and allegations already made via social media (Facebook) over ISEZ project ownership, development agendas and land issues. Issues raised includes ownership of companies to be associated with ISEZ project into the future.

There is much vindictiveness and anger amongst my people especially city based people of lhu and Kikori District regarding Ihu Special Economic Zone Project. This was based on misleading narrative that; only Peter Kengemar (ISEZ Project Director), myself and my son Henry Eoe own Shares in companies related to Ihu Special Economic Zone project. This is not true.

The facts are these; there are 3 different companies currently registered with IPA. Two are shelf-companies created by ISEZ project office as per Kikori District Development Authority resolutions in 2019. Those shelf companies are;

1. Kikori Resource Holdings Company which is 100% owned by Kikori District, there is only 1 share holder which held in trust by the Chairman of KDDA and MP for Kikori, (Hon. Soroi Eoe), 1 Director, Peter Kengemar and 1 Secretary, Steven Ilave. This company will be restructured as per KDDA resolution once the ISEZ project has been approved by NEC as a state project. In the restructure the shares will be divided between the 4 LLGs and a separate Board will be elected. This agenda is now mature and in the next scheduled KDDA Board meeting (24 October 2020) submissions will be made to restructure the company.

2. Ihu Special Economic Zone Limited is second shelf-company with 50% share held in trust by Peter Kengemar for the 4 LLGs of Kikori and 50% shares held in trust for landowners by the Chairman of KDDA and MP for Kikori, (Hon. Soroi Eoe). The temporary directors are Steven Ilave and Peter Kengemar. It has been agreed in recent meeting (5th October) by leaders of Ihu, which included Mr. Harupa Peke, that this company will be restructured to have only 1 share holder, held in trust by the Chairman of KDDA and MP for Kikori, (Hon. Soroi Eoe). A second and final restructure will be completed by the end of 2021, after certain important work program including social mapping and landowner’s identification is completed and ISEZ project footprint area landowners are registered and incorporated with their ILGs. The landowners will be fairly represented by due processes as established by law and shares in the company will be allocated appropriately. The company name; ISEZ Limited will be changes to ISEZ Enterprise to properly reflect the nature of business in the project. This agenda will be presented at next KDDA Board meeting for approval.

3. Ihu Special Economic Zone Development Company Limited (ISEZDCL) is the third company associated with ISEZ project. This company is owned 100% by Direco Services Limited. This company has developed the concept, prepared all necessary documents for KDDA and the State, and as per Special Economic Zone Authority Act 2019 and NEC Decision No. 269/2020 is recognized as the company that will manage the Project Office to deliver the project. The company has nil shares in ISEZ project ownership structure as explained in the above two companies. Once the services of ISEZDCL is no longer required the company will wind down or restructured to take other services. This agenda will be presented at next KDDA Board meeting for approval, and a new agreement and TOR will be signed in full compliance with SEZA Act 2019 and NEC Decision.

In summary, the two shelf-companies holds 100% Shares in trust on and behalf of the people of Kikori District and the Chairman of KDDA and MP for Kikori is the Sole Shareholder according to business practices.

Because of ongoing misleading and highly defamatory stories l have invited Harupa Peke to meet with myself, Peter Kengemar and ISEZ Team on Tuesday 5th of October, 2020 to discuss this matter and dissolve any misunderstanding.

Finally, the ISEZ project is now a major impact economic project approved and funded by State for the people of Kikori and Gulf Province. The District Officers and ISEZ Project office will do a lot of awareness in Kerema and throughout the district and project footprints areas.

This is now possible also with the opening of Ihu and Baimuru airstrips later this month.

END

Above: The Member for Kikori, Hon. Soroi Eoe holds up the Kikori District 5 Year Development Plan 2018-2022

Above: Appointed KDDA Board Member representing Youth and Business, Mr David Liah speaks at the meeting

 

MEMBER FOR KIKORI ASSISTS LOCAL COMMUNITY WITH PURCHASE OF CHAINSAW

PRESS RELEASE

Monday, 11 May 2020

Above: Member for Kikori-Hon. Soroi Eoe presents a chainsaw to  Community Representative, Mr Moro Kivovia

The people of Ward 14 in the Ihu LLG have received significant support from the Member for Kikori, Hon. Soroi Marepo Eoe with the purchase of a chainsaw.

Ward 14 consists of village; Belepa, Hiloi, Opuloria and Opa. Mr Moro Kivovia, a local leader representing these communities said “the communities have plans to improve their livelihood. Through this assistance, they plan to clear a huge plot of land to plant gardens as well as cut timber to build better homes and plant cocoa trees to increase income”.

Mr Kivovia further stated that “this chainsaw will further help the Opa Primary School as well as churches in the community. The chainsaw is worth more than K7,170.00.

Hon. Soroi Eoe also added that 4 sewing machines will be purchased for these 4 villages to assist the mothers in their SME activities.

The member for Kikori aims to assist communities that take the initiative to improve their livelihood instead of waiting on the government system for assistance. Initiatives like this enables communities to progress and enables further economic opportunities as well.

Mr Kivovia thanked Hon. Eoe and said “that this assistance would be a great help to the communities today and into the future”.

Hon. Eoe recently presented sewing machines to mothers as well as a rice mill to communities in the district encouraging self-help initiatives throughout the district.

End….

Sewing Machines Presented to Women's Groups

18th of March, 2020

Today, women of East Vailala 1 & East Vailala 2 received sewing machines bought by the Member for Kikori-Hon. Soroi Marepo Eoe.
The sewing machines would enable the women to sew and sell and also sew for themselves and their families.
The mothers of East Vailala 1 & East Vailala 2 Women's Fellowship were overjoyed with this gesture and thanked the Member for Kikori for hearing their cries.
Further presentation of this sewing machines would be to Karokaro SDA Women's group in the Ihu LLG and then onto Baimuru.
Last week during the official presentation of the sewing machines, the Member for Kikori Hon. Eoe also indicated that more sewing machines would be purchased for the Evara, Poroi, Subu & Haia areas as well as East & West Kikori mothers in the near future.

https://www.facebook.com/OfficeofMemberforKikoriOpenElectorate/posts/?ref=page_internal

Member for Kikori Begins District Awareness Visit

29th January, 2020

The Member for Kikori Hon. Soroi Marepo Eoe began his district awareness program this week covering mostly Baimuru & Ihu subdistricts.

The Member for Kikori-Hon.Soroi Eoe paid visits to Arava in Baimuru as well as his home village Harevavo and Kaivakovu & Mareke villages in the Ihu sub-district to conduct awareness on development progress to-date.
During these visits he outlined development progress on the following;
● 5 Year District Development Plan 2018-2020 - The launch of the 5-year District Development Plan 2018-2022 has enabled the Member’s office and the district administration to source funding from potential developers, foreign missions, government entities and so forth.

● Government funded commitments such as:
o Roads - Ihu-Petoe and Ihu-Muro roads worth K2m.

o Jetties & Bridges

● Electricity (Gensets) - with the transportation of the gensets to the Kikori & Baimuru within February 2020. There had been a delay as the ship hired to freight these gensets was due to return from a previous engagement. There would be a tender process to select the best contractor to carry out the installation and of these facilities for Ihu, Baimuru & Kikori.

● Public Servants Housing – 10 prefabricated houses have been purchased by the Kikori District Development Authority so improve housing for the public servants as an initial purchase. The prefab houses would be freighted with the gensets once the ship is available.

● School Fee Support – Nearly K400,000.00 had been committed to Tertiary students School Fees, this includes K42, 000 for Kapuna Community Health Workers and Pastoral students at Metago and David Kini Colleges. In 2019 alone, Minister Eoe had committed nearly K500,000 for both Tertiary students, Kapuna CHW, Pastoral students and 3 Pilot (Aviation) students. School fees had also been included for school dropouts in Grade 6, 8, 10 and 12 to enable these students a second chance in life.

● K200,000 was allocated. Scoping for Ihu & Baimuru airstrips. The IHU and BAIMURU airstrips with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Kikori District Development Authority and Rural Airstrip Agency PNG Ltd the rural airstrips in the remote Kikori District paves the way for basic services to reach the communities in the area.
This agreement established a working relationship between Kikori District Development Authority and Rural Airstrip Agency built upon respect, cooperation, consultation and collaboration; wherein Kikori District Development Authority through funding assistance set out in the agreement, support Rural Airstrip Authority to restore and or rehabilitate the deteriorating Ihu and Baimuru rural airstrips in Kikori District.
This event further signified the efforts of the Member for Kikori Open, Hon. Soroi Marepo Eoe to ensure much needed infrastructure and transport services are brought to the district as outlined in the Kikori District 5 Year Development Plan 2018-2022.
Pertaining to this, the KDDA through also supported 3 trainee pilots to undergo training at the PNG Training Centre in Mareeba, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It is hoped that these trainee pilots in turn would work back in the district after completion of training and are certified pilots.

● Orokolo Health Centre – Hon. Soroi Marepo Eoe had secured funding commitment from foreign investors to rebuild the Orokolo Health Centre.

● Ihu Special Economic Zone-Hon. Eoe as well as the Project Team Lead for the Ihu Special Economic Zone Project explained what the project was about. Both stressed that in order for the district to be experience major development, landowners had to give land freely, so work could progress rapidly. Hon. Eoe said the ISEZ would create enormous employment opportunities as well as economic activities and infrastructure development enabling service delivery in the Ihu area.
Hon. Eoe explained that for the short term 5-year development plan, and because the district infrastructure had badly deteriorated over the last 20 years, it was a difficult choice to make on which infrastructure to concentrate on and or to start off with. So, the last years had really been about planning.
Hon. Soroi Eoe encouraged everyone to be ready and brace themselves for major development progress in the next couple of years. He said "if we’re not prepared, we would not benefit from major development coming our way".
End………

https://www.facebook.com/OfficeofMemberforKikoriOpenElectorate/posts/1831114293688472?__tn__=K-R

Year in Review 2019 - Kikori District – The Next Economic Hub of Papua New Guinea

Where He Is Coming From (Building Up From Ground-Zero)

It is no secret that there are challenges in the district. Therefore, the Member for Kikori has been working hard despite these challenges.

With deteriorated core service delivery infrastructure over the years, it has been a difficult district to work in. Administrative capacity on ground is weak including mismanagement of funds by previous leaders and public servants.

Thus Hon. Soroi Eoe’s priority therefore is to change both the physical outlook of the district as well as the mindset of the people to meaningfully contribute to development initiatives of the district in the years to come.

Above: Deteriorated staff housing at Orokolo Hospital

Above: Deteriorated health center

KIKORI 5 YEAR DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2018-2022

To ensure these basic services reach the district the Member for Kikori with his team prepared and put together a 5-yearDistrict Development Plan 2018-2022. This 5-year development plan outlines a strategic direction where he wishes to see Kikori District to take in the next 5 to 10 years. The Hon. Eoe’s vision is to ensure that the district is socially, environmentally, politically and economically progressive by investing into socio-economic infrastructure and

the human resource thus enabling the citizens to be educated and health to be able to meaningful participants in the development process whilst enjoying the benefits of modernity and in the process bring the district to the next level of development which is: “MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIALIZATION”.

Kikori District Vision is anchored on 6 key building blocks for development and compliments Gulf Vision 2020 and PNG Vision 2050 and they are:

1.       Government Delivery Mechanism

2.      Infrastructural Development

3.      Integral Human Development

1.1.1.Health Sector Development

1.1.2.      Education Sector Development

4.      Social Development

5.      Economic and Industrial Development

6.      Environmental Risk Management

The first ever Kikori District 5-year Development Plan 2018-2022 was launched on Friday the 6th of September 2019 at the Laguna Hotel Poolside. This was a historic event for the Kikori District as the district never had an official document in the past.
The guest of honour, Prime Minister, Hon. James Marape officially launched the event with the host-Member for Kikori Open and Minister for Foreign Affairs & International Trade giving his opening remarks thanking staff and all that had contributed to completing the document.
Minister Eoe also thanked the people from the Department of National Planning & Monitoring who assisted the team to align the 5-year development plan to the existing national plans such as the MTDP 3 and so forth. He said “plans are very important as it has a cascading effect from top to bottom….and is a framework in which it can guide development and Kikori is the same. The last 15 to 30 years has seen unplanned development or no development at all simply because we didn’t have plans to guide us so I’m hopeful that this plan will enable us to move forward in terms of resource allocations within this framework and systematically implement what is required of us. Plans are only plans, and if we don’t take ownership it is a useless document that collects dust in the office space of public servants.”

 

Above: 2019 - Prime Minister James Marape launches the Kikori District 5 Year Development Plan

Minister Eoe, appealed to the public servants of the district, the CEO of Kikori District Development Authority and his officers of the 4 LLGs to take ownership of this plan and move and implement it.
The Kikori District 5-year Development Plan 2018-2022 was launched along with two other documents. They are further major plans to develop Kikori District. He highlighted and thanked the Prime Minister and the cabinet for approving the “Special Economic Zone concept which is vital” and more so greatly supported by the Prime Minister himself making it one of the priority projects of the national government.
This creates employment opportunities, expanding economic base thus opening opportunities in areas where there aren’t any services.

Above: 2019 - Hon. Charles Abel receives the Kikori 5 Year Development Plan 2018-2022 on behalf of the Planning Department from Member for Kikori Hon. Soroi Marepo Eoe, MP.

IHU SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE

The Member for Kikori since elected into office in 2017 has been involved in National level political Responsibilities including Department of Community Development, Youth & Religion, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and more recently Department of Public Service. – (Community Development, DFAIT, DPM)

As the Minister for Community Development, Youth & Religion, Hon. Eoe felt that the department had to have its presence felt in the communities to ensure human development in the forefront of nation building. With this in mind, he initiated the Community Development Center flagship to be established in every district with approval by Kikori District Development Authority to counter-fund this facility in the Kikori District as well.

The Member for Kikori also played a key role in establishing a Youth Council in the Kikori district to assist in addressing issues and enhancing youth activities in the district.

With a change to the government, Hon. Eoe was again appointed the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade signaling great confidence in his outstanding performance as a first-time politician and Minister.

Minister Eoe’s representation in New Zealand, Tuvalu, and at the United Nation’s General Assembly in New York where he delivered the Prime Minister’s speech.

Above: 2019 - Minister Eoe & wife met US President Donald Trump and wife during the UN General Assembly in New York

More recently, Minister Eoe visited Hong Kong and China in fulfillment of government policies for attracting foreign investments.

These visits were fruitful as major commitments to developing district infrastructure such as the roads, jetties, bridges and hospitals as well as major national infrastructure and financial assistance were made throughout these meetings.

National Level Economic involvement (Papua LNG Gas Agreement).

o   Papua LNG Gas Agreement Negotiations as a key member of the ministerial team

o   Consultation with IHU & Baimuru Landowners regarding gas agreement signing

Above: Landowner consultation meetings

o   Promoting ISEZ at the APEC Leaders Meeting and in Sydney, Aust. & Port Moresby

Above: 3D model display of the Ihu Special Economic ZoneAdd caption

o   Japanese Project Support, securing K9mil (TBC) for heavy construction equipment

Where He Is Going

Hon. Soroi Marepo Eoe has solid plans moving forward. Here are the focus areas to bringing development to the district;

·         With launch of the 5-year District Development Plan, the focus now is to implementation of these Plan through the development of LLG Ward Plans ensuring the all areas are covered and not left out.

·         A vital component is to complete electrification project (installation of Gensets) by the end of the first quarter 2020. This supports the public service to better carry out their duties in the respective LLG’s.

·         Complete rehabilitation of Ihu and Baimuru airstrips by June 2020

·         Awareness campaign of Land mobilization with regard to the Ihu Special Economic Zone. This better informs the landowners that may be affected by the development that would take place.

·         Completion of feasibility studies of various components of ISEZ

·         With the deteriorated state of most public service housing, the member for Kikori also plans build public service housing. The houses are prefabricated and durable. This guarantees an improved working environment for the public service.

·         With funds been committed in the National Budget and external sources, Hon. Eoe plans to complete the first phase of large infrastructure projects such as roads, Jetties, Health Centers, Markets & Classrooms.

·         Hon. Eoe and his team will also be looking at securing funding for projects and establish management mechanism to implement these projects

Despite the changes in government the Member has performed solidly in the Ministries he has held and holds currently.