Prime Minister Peter O'Neill commended for traveling on Highlands Highway

Highlands Highway in PNG. Photo credit: Walum Nalu

Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill has being commended for being the country’s only Prime Minister ever to traverse the Highlands Highway from Lae, Morobe Province to the Southern Highlands during the festive period.

This is according to Hela man Peter Wakima, a veteran truck driver and councilor for Puyu ward in the Hulia LLG of Komo Margarima district. Cnr Wakima said O’Neill has proven to be the ‘peoples’ Prime Minister’ when he travelled the length and breadth of the deplorable state of Highlands Highway.

He said by doing so, Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill was able to reel the experiences of truckies and passengers who frequent the Highlands Highway each day for their survival.

Mr Wakima is a counselor for 25 years with more than 30 years’ experience as truck drivers for various trucking firms that frequently travel the highlands highway, hulking supplies from Vocco Point sea port in Lae to Komo, Lake Kutubu, Porgera and other resource project sites in Hela, Southern Highlands and Enga. Cnr Wakima said when he saw the convoy of vehicles with the Prime Minister on the highway, he was emotional knowing that there is glimmer of hope besides the many difficulties and adversities truckies face each day along the highway in order to keep the economic lifeline of this country moving forward.

He said many times truck drivers are faced with the inevitable along the highway like road blocks, landslips, crater-like potholes and other lawlessness activities that hold up traffic flow for many weeks and days. He said opportunists along the highway also abuse and assault them (drivers) while most times they are even robbed and escape from the jaws from deaths by inches from machete- wielding and gun- trotting thugs along the various notorious parts of the highway. He said despite these calamities, the drivers still continue to serve in order to put food on the table for their families while at the same time, move the economy of the country forward.

He said for the Prime Minister to come down that low and feel the experiences of the drivers and commuters to travel the road only shows the heart and desire Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill has to serve the people of this nation.

He said as truck drivers, they are optimistic that the Prime Minister O'Neill would ‘walk the talk’ and improve the deplorable state of the Highlands Highway.

Cnr Wakima said only when leaders forget their comfort and buffer- zones to stop traveling on the luxury of airplanes and walk the path and experience the sufferings of their people, they would serve the people better. He said today’s young MPs and ministers are pretenders when they visit their electorate on that chartered luxury jet or chopper parked and waiting for them at the aerodromes while they talk to the people.

He said these flamboyant leaders then quickly dash- off to the bright lights and comforts of Port Moresby and give the lame excuse and lie to the people that ‘I got very important meeting to attend’. He urged the MPs and Ministers to emulate the examples of Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill and feel the daily challenges of their people to serve them better.

Source: Prime Ministers Media Unit