THERE is nothing wrong with supporting our people in need, especially after they have been hit by a natural disaster as did Cyclone Maila that ravaged different parts of many provinces in the last fortnight.
Two landslides from heavy torrential rain in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and East New Britain province buried 22 people and a further three were reported killed in Milne Bay.
Many people have been left homeless in floods, landslides and from having their dwellings carried away by heavy winds. Gardens have been destroyed and water sources polluted.
It is a heavy toll and one that requires rapid response by national, provincial, and local level governments.
This is the reason they exist – to attend to the needs of their people.
The key phrase here is ‘ATTEND TO THE NEEDS OF THEIR PEOPLE’.
It means that relief assistance, if it really must provide relief, must be directed at the specific needs of the people affected.
Beyond food, water, shelter and clothing, the needs of different communities may be different.
A community affected by massive landslides will be faced with different short, medium and long term needs as another that has been laid bare by strong winds. Another faced by flooding water may have different needs to others differently affect.
Dropping a million kina in the coffers of a district development authority which might not even be coordinating relief assistance at the ward levels is a waste of money.
Or giving money to to people on an atoll who have to struggled to get out again to buy food stuff does not help at all.
The relief effort must meet the emergency.
In this Australia and New Zealand have always mobilised faster and in more appropriate ways than has the national government to disaster in PNG.
We have seen this with the Rabaul twin volcano disaster in 1994, with the Aitape tsunami in 1998, with the Mulitaka landslide in Enga in 2024 and now with the ravages of Cyclone Maila.
They come first with boxes of supplies — food, water, medicine, material for temporary shelters and transportation.
Any cash component comes only after the initial emergency supplies have been sent and after an initial quick assessment has been made of medium term and long term needs of the affected communities.
Papua New Guinea almost always acts late and always inappropriately. It releases cash when what is needed are emergency supplies.
This does not indicate an uncaring government; it indicates an unprepared government.
What does the National Disaster Centre do?
What are the provincial disaster and emergency offices doing?
Are they provided adequate staff and financial resources annually to respond to emergencies?
Why does the National Executive Council going into emergency sessions to make blanket approval of unbudgeted funds without even an assessment of what is needed. A blanket approval of K5 million per province affected by Cyclone Maila is silly because some provinces might have been affected more than others.
They might require a higher amount of money than do others or far less.
By the same token, adding K1 million per district for Milne Bay might sound good but it seems free money for some unaffected districts, those in islands and atolls which were in the direct path of the cyclone, it will not be nearly enough.
Who did the preliminary studies of the trail of destruction in each district based upon which advice has gone to the PM that each district requires exactly K1 million each?
Unless we can prepare for disasters, we will always be reacting inappropriately and always disproportionately.
Prepare always for disasters and how to respond when they hit.
