Lae City’s positive development trend can be replicated everywhere with good leadership

Within a space of five years from 2017 to 2022, we saw the most basic services restored in Lae City.

Lae’s  potholed road sections like the Independence drive (Unitech to Tent City)  neglected for 30 years were rebuilt. Kamkumung to Bumbu Bridge and  Bumbu to Malahang  are now opened to traffic.  The section between the Angau roundabout and the market will soon be open once the concrete cures.

In just  five years, the Lae District administration has facilitated the construction of brand new police stations. They’ve  rehabilitated suburban clinics and built brand new ones.  

In East Taraka, once notoriously neglected had its main trunk roads rehabilitated and in some sections rebuilt. There is still a lot of work to be one on the suburban streets. But residents seem happy with the new development.  

The most basic needs of a city – streetlights, drainage, roads, health, education and policing have been given the utmost priority. Police in Lae are better equipped. Armed hold ups on big businesses and banks which, 10 years ago were prevalent have been reduced to zero. Big crime doesn’t pay any more.

At Huonville Primary School where buildings  were condemned and  where parents built temporary classrooms, they now have new classrooms paid for by government money.

Yes. There’s still more work to be done.

Why do I bring this up?

It is a model that can easily be replicated with good, strong leadership focused on strengthening systems, building multi-sector relationships and encouraging community participation.

Support has come from all sectors including the Australian government and the businesses community. This has been primarily driven by confidence in the political leadership.

One of the first things that Lae MP, John Rosso did was establish the Lae City Authority (LCA).  The legislation for it had already been passed but it took political will  to actually set it up in 2017.  

The next step was to improve revenue collection. 

A cash office was set up for only one payment gateway. Online payments were encouraged.

For many who had  benefited from illegal payments and theft,  this was a shock.  Investigations revealed how cash payments were made to permanent and casual staff. People ate their fill from government coffers and felt that  they were entitled to it all.

In a few short months, all that stopped.

The massive hire car bill was slashed to zero has the LCA bought the cheapest vehicles available  for its administration staff. No 10-seater landcruisers. No expensive VXs.

How did Lae get its roads fixed?

Through an arrangement with the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) and the Morobe Provincial Government, Lae was able to secure 20 percent of all GST generated by Morobe. That money is now tied to the construction of roads regardless of whether  or not the current Lae MP returns in the next election.

There’s more but this is just a sample.  This can be replicated everywhere.