CHANGE CAME WITH THE ELECTION OF LOUJAYA TONI KOUZA AS MP FOR LAE

Lae MP Loujaya Toni Kouza, Abandon Pasin Blo Stail Meri and Begin Following the Example of Jesus Christ In Assisting Economically Struggling Lae Market Women Now Sitting Forgotten in the Mud
 

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When Loujaya Toni Kouza was elected as Lae MP, women especially were delighted and expecting to see a kind of concern for women’s development and support in Lae that the former MP, chronic womanizer and alcoholic Bart Philemon never seemed to have much interest in.   Low hopes became high hopes because under Philemon, such simple things as women being able to see handicrafts to the public in front of Lae and Morobe Pharmacy was destroyed, leaving even more women in economic trouble zone.  MP Philemon was more interested in gambling at the Lamana Gold Club or drinking at the Lae Yacht Club than he was in serving the poor.  We women were confident that things would change under the new MP.

Things did start to change when MP Loujaya took office, starting with her appearance.  The former, simple PNG hairstyle shared with the average woman of PNG disappeared from her head, replaced by new exotic hairstyles, some of which we expected to be seen in Moresby stail meri and sometimes even pamuks frequenting the high class bars and clubs in POM.  Ms Loujaya seemed to spend more time worrying about her hair than the women of Lae.
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The next change we noticed were the arguments.  Lots and lots of arguments, angry ones, between the new MP and almost every other group.  Amongst these were complaints that MP Loujaya was not consulting average women of Lae, and ignoring women that were hard up and economically disadvantaged.   Yet the new Lae MP was seen many times sitting down with other stail meri to talk.  

No one seems to have seen MP Loujaya spending time with Lae urban poor women or simple village women living around Lae in any meaningful way.  Of course Ms Loujaya Kouza would have looked strangely out of place in such locations with her fancy hair style.  Her expensive clothes would clash against the worn meri blouses of the poor women she had come to visit, make them feel ashamed.

The changes that took place in our Lae MP contrasted greatly against what we saw with the other 2 new women MPs Julie Soso and Delilah Gore.  MP Gore, especially, continued to wear simple PNG hair style typical of the average PNG woman and Mrs Gore continues to wear her meri blouse proudly into parliament. The power of MP does not seem to have corrupted her as it did for MP Loujaya.

OFF TRACK PRIORITIES THAT SEEMED TO IGNORE LAE AREA WOMEN MOST IN NEED

We were surprised when our Lae MP jetted off to Fiji to become Chairman of a Pacific Woman’s caucus in which she said the group’s first priority under her leadership would be to support Fiji women to win seats in government in that country’s election.   Lae women have learnt that getting into a position of power is not enough to bring good changes to the situation of women. After all Loujaya Toni Kouza is now the woman representative for all Lae people in parliament yet nothing really has changed since when Bart Philemon was Lae MP.

If the attention MP Loujaya seemed to place on her stail meri appearance was not disappointing enough to the Christian women of Lae, there was shock and sadness when the story came out that MP Loujaya had given over half her yearly District Project Support grant (ie more than5 million kina) to her Port Moreby church Pastor Joe Kile who owns and runs SkyCo Systems on the side as a middleman company to bring in and resell biometrics system equipment.   We do not understand how helping her Moresby friend helps advance Lae women economically in any efficient way. It actually looks like corruption.  To involve any Christian church in corrupt activities is sacrilege to God.  

It is beyond disappointing to see that MP Loujaya has never come forward with a clear, written explanation as to what she used scarce DSIP money to buy her Pastor’s biometrics equipment instead of using the money in ways that would more directly benefit the economically disadvantaged in Lae.  Of course it would be an extremely shameful experience for all women in PNG if MP Loujaya becomes the first woman MP to be caught in corruption and giving money to personal friends, especially after Dame Carol Kidu served as MP for so many years with no slipping in ethics.

LOUJYA TONI KOUZA ELECTRONIC SIGNBOARD RECENTLY COMPLETED IN TOP TOWN LAE
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The only very obvious change that MP has said she was responsible for in Lae is the new fancy electronic signboard installed next to Morobe Provincial offices in top town [THE PHOTO ONLY SHOWS THE TYPE OF SIGNBOARD THAT HAS BEEN ERECTED IN LAE].  

You cannot see a thing displayed on this signboard during the day because of the bright tropical sun.  The sign only works at night, when few people are wandering around top town, all stores are closed, and mostly the only women to be seen are those inside the few private vehicles  passing through top town at night, as well as a few prostitutes walking top town streets who have no other way to make decent money to maintain themselves and family.  The fancy new sign board must be especially for them.

We do not know how Lae MP Loujaya plans for this new Lae electronic signboard to help the development of either women or men.  One story is that the signboard is in preparation to make Lae into the PNG Las Vegas full of bright lights 5 star casinos???

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COMPLETELY FORGETTING THE HARD WORKING SMALL BUSINESS WOMEN AT LAE MARKET

Not far from the new Lae top town lights of Las Vegas, down the hill and across the old airstrip site is Lae Market, the city’s biggest opportunity for women’s small scale business economic advancement.  
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Whether it is selling hand sewn clothes, bringing fish from the mangroves or ocean around Lae to sell, or growing and transporting peanuts, pawpaw, kru sako from Zenag, and saksak from the swampy areas around Lae for hungry city dwellers, all this is undeniable evidence of vibrant economic activity.  It is real evidence of women’s actual hard work, not plans and dreams of working hard. The women involved in Lae Market have found a way, large or small, to earn money with their hands..  There are no lazy women involved in selling items at the Lae Market.  

The Lae Market has so much potential to assist women achieve economic aspirations.  City and rural women can sell so many different products they grow or create, without too much overlapping competition.  In this way is generated the toeas and kinas that will pay school fees for the children and advance national education levels.   

Unfortunately, our MP Loujaya Toni Kouza is nowhere to be seen in Lae Market except maybe for short term photo opportunities.  Maybe her absence is what causes her to overlook the EXTREME DISGRACE that women have to put up with in the Lae Market’s current infrastructure.  

If you have not been to Lae Market you have not seen the many hundreds of women (few men) forced to sell their products outside the covered areas.  They have no tables or benches but sit on bare ground or put plastic or canvas to sit on along with their offerings.

The problem is that it rains more in Lae than any other city in PNG, with no real dry season.  The rain can be heavy and can occur during day or night. During the frequent heavy rains Lae market becomes disaster area for the poor vendors.  It doesn’t matter if they have umbrellas to protect their head from rain, rivers of water wash into the low areas where they sit.   Women sometimes build small mini dams around themselves to keep the rising water from muddying them. Muddy swampy ground in walkways between vendors become splash zones as feet walking through splash the mud into the faces of the poor vendors.    All vendors must pay for the privilege of this inhumane treatment by paying market fees.  None of the money they pay for sitting in the mud to sell their fresh produce seems to be reinvested in improving the market.

Lae Market is a symbol of disrespecting instead of saluting and honouring these women for their hard work.  To allow this situation to continue for a month, much less for years, is an extreme expression of unconcern for fellow human beings.  Lae Market is not a symbol of Christian caring towards others but opposite kind of attitude.  There is no effort whatsoever to ensure first priority to local women to have the best space and many Lae women are pushed into the mud.

Lae MP Loujaya Toni Kouza says almost nothing about this disgraceful situation.   Instead she has spent the last 2 years changing hair styles and paying over K5 million DSIP money to her Pastor for a biometrics pilot project that seems to benefit her Pastor more than it does local women.  She puts more effort into putting up an expensive electronic sign board that doesn’t work during the day and hardly anyone sees at night when top town becomes ghost town.   

MP Loujaya talks constantly about empowering women economically and creating the entrepreneurial spirit of those with the motivation to work and make money in small business.  Yet she shows little to no interest in improving the largest, most obvious Lae infrastructure by far to support women’s small business.  MP Loujaya Toni Kouza says she is Christian and a woman, yet is content for hundreds of Lae Market women vendors sit in the mud week after week, month after month in a degrading and inhumane way.  She seems to have no compassion, no sense of caring for women who are less well off than her.  Why else would she let this situation continue a moment longer?   

MP LOUJAYA TONI KOUZA PLEASE DO SOMETHING THAT REALLY HELPS HARD WORKING POOR WOMEN EARN MORE INCOME

MP Loujaya Toni Kouza should take time out of her busy schedule to spend one full day at Lae Market amongst the average women of this nation.   Spend the day selling something and experiencing the displeasure of flood waters and mud in the outdoor area of Lae Market.  After that experience, maybe MP Loujaya will feel emotionally moved to put all her support and available DSIP money into creating something that will help the women who have most clearly demonstrated that they are not lazy but willing to work hard to earn money.   

We women do not want Lae MP Loujaya to go off in some crazy direction if she is to improve Lae Market.  The most important thing is NOT to move it away from its current economically vibrant central location to outside Lae, where only well paid workers driving private cars will find it economic and convenient to visit. Even they will end up abandoning the market and start buying everything from the supermarket.  Moving the market away from central Lae will destroy its potential to assist women small business.   If you must, shift Lae Market to a larger piece of land at the nearby old airport site and move the PMV stop too so that it stays next to the market for easy coming and going.    Or move the market temporarily to the old airport site while building a permanent 2 or 3 story market building with plenty of parking space underneath.  Don’t charge for parking because that discourages buyers.   Focus on increasing economic activity not discouraging it.
 
MP Loujaya, if you are determined to remain a stail meri and copycat outside ways, take a look at how people friendly farmers markets are created outside of PNG as you develop your plans.  Do not overlook the basic objective of a market, which is to bring buyers and sellers together in a friendly, comfortable environment.   If you notice, there is no mud splashing into women vendor’s faces in either of these pictures of modern markets outside of PNG.  

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MP LOUJAYA MUST LEARN THAT CHRISTIAN COMPASSION IS JUDGED ON ACTION, NOT WORDS

MP Loujaya Toni Kouza proclaims herself a strong Christian, yet she has done very little that shows true compassion for economically disadvantaged women in and around Lae.  Worse, she seems to be corrupting the purpose of the DSIP and using it to help friends, dragging the good name of a Christian Church with her.  

We plea with the Lae MP to abandon her stail meri symbolism and begin demonstrating the Christian compassion that Jesus Christ taught us over 2,000 years ago.  Be with the poor, dress like the poor, and do things that effectively help the poor, MP Loujaya.  Abandon your corrupt use of DSIP money.  Focus on women, that is your opportunity and destiny and where you will do your best work.   Genuinely start behavoing like Christ and you will be richly rewarded in your next life.  

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