Chairman Establishes Secretariat

Ms. Kessy Sawang – Secretariat
Manam Resettlement Authority

The Chairman of Manam Resettlement Authority Ken Fairweather is focused on establishing the Manam Resettlement Authority as a fully-fledged institution in the first half of 2019.  The first step is to have the Board endorsed by the Minister for Inter Government Relations in mid-January.

It is the O’Neill Government’s priority to institutionalize the resettlement program and have the Manam humanitarian disaster addressed.

In the interim, the Chairman has established the Secretariat to assist him move things forward, until the CEO and staff of the institution are recruited.

The Secretariat will work closely with the Ministry for Inter Government Relations and the Department of Provincial & Local-level Government Affairs (DPLGA), National Disaster Centre, Madang Provincial Government, Bogia District Development Authority (DDA), Manam Disaster Working Committee, leaders of Manam and host communities, Department of Treasury, National Planning & Monitoring, donor agencies, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders on the Board’s agenda.

The Secretariat is headed by Ms. Kessy Sawang.  Ms. Sawang is a local leader from Rai Coast, Madang, who knows and understands the Manam issues.  She is the former First Secretary at Inter Government Relations Ministry, former Head of Secretariat at Tax Review Secretariat, Department of Treasury, and former Deputy Commissioner at PNG Customs Service.

For transparency and to keep the people informed, the work of MRA towards sustainable solutions for the complex Manam humanitarian problem will be communicated through this blog, apart from the normal communication channels.

Manam is the development agenda for Bogia District.  The Chairman appeals to all leaders and the people to work together with him for the good of the internally displaced people (IDPs) and their host communities who have suffered for so long.