The Rabaul District Administration is continuing its ongoing water cartage exercise to provide immediate relief to wards, schools, health facilities, and churches across both origin and resettlement areas as severe El Niño impacts affect local communities.
The distribution initiative, which commenced last month, aims to ensure safe drinking water reaches vulnerable populations facing critical shortages caused by the prolonged dry season across the district and country.
During a recent District Disaster Committee meeting, Rabaul District Administrator and Committee Chairman, Mr. Freddy Lemeki, commended District Disaster Coordinator Mr. Tony Namur and his technical support staff for their dedicated efforts in coordinating relief operations and working tirelessly to deliver water.
“This El Nino disaster presents a major challenge for us as a district administration operating with limited resources,” Mr. Lemeki said.
“Frequent power outages, logistics constraints, and rising fuel costs continue to limit our coverage to other severely affected areas, particularly across the resettlement areas given the long distances.”
He noted that the administration's primary priority is ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water, followed by addressing food security, bushfire prevention, potential disease outbreaks, and other health-related concerns.
Mr. Lemeki also clarified that the anticipated K2.5 million El Niño Disaster Relief funding from the National Government has not yet been received by the district.
The funds are currently parked at the National Banking Corporation (NBC) pending the establishment of district trust accounts and the issuance of amended Financial Instructions outlining spending guidelines.
“At the moment we are relying on our existing project and program funds to assist with El Nino disaster related activities,” explained Mr. Lemeki.
Providing an update on the operation, Mr. Namur stated that the water cartage exercise has covered almost all wards in both origin and resettlement areas.
However, he noted that several communities still lack proper water catchments at central and neutral locations where residents can easily collect water.
The water cartage team delivers up to 3,000 liters per trip and completes nine runs a day. Alongside water distribution, the team is inspecting existing water supply infrastructure, identifying systems that require quality testing and physical upgrades.
To expand its reach, Rabaul District has partnered with Water PNG to establish two key water points in Ward 4 of Rabaul Town and Nonga in the Balanataman LLG.
Additionally, the district is working closely with Coconut Products Limited (CPL) on a phased project to restore an existing bore that will supply water to the Malaguna 2 Ward Hall.
The district water cartage team is distributing water to Watom Island this week and may continue operations into next week following an evaluation and assessment by the District Senior Executive Management and District Disaster Committee.