Delegates welcomed for regional forum

Caption:   (L) Governor Powes Parkop, Deputy PM Leo Dion, and Tuvalu PM Enele Sopoaga

By MATTHEW VARI

Wednesday, May 21, 2014 (Midweek Chronicle, PNG)

REPRESENTATIVES participating in the third Pacific Local Government Forum (PLGF) were treated to an eventful welcome reception on Monday night at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby. 

With the forum starting yesterday, the delegates were welcomed by the Governor of NCD Powes Parkop, with important guests present including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Responsible for Inter Government Relations Leo Dion, and the Prime Minister for Tuvalu and Patron to the PLGF Enele Sopoaga.

Over the week the forum will be used as a vehicle vital for the sharing of experiences to enable the effective delivery of government services to local communities in Pacific countries.

In his welcome address Governor Parkop welcomed them to the city, highlighting some of the achievements and the challenges the city’s government has faced, which he said they were keen to learn from other countries in the region in the forum.

He said that with the hosting of the 2015 Pacific and Regional Forums and the biggest being the APEC Summit in 2018- the Pacific was now a key player in the eyes of the international community.

“I see Port Moresby as not only the capital of PNG but a regional host for the rest of the pacific,” Parkop said.

Patron of the Forum Prime Minister Sopoaga thanked the government for hosting the event, emphasizing the need for technical development in the region.

“Technical development is a crucial process in redefining the way we govern our people,” he said.

“Every year despite the amounts of development poured in, Pacific Islands still play catchup.”

“There is too much bureaucracy stopping the people receiving the benefits, because we have forgotten the real people.”

The Deputy PM Leo Dion emphasized the importance of decentralization of the government to improve service delivery, something he said the Papua New Guinea Government was committed to empower the districts right down to the rural population.