CHANGING PORT MORESBY CITY LANDSCAPE WITH INFRASTRUCTURE
INCOMPLETE STADIUMS:
by LEKEM LAKI
The metropolitan city of Port Moresby is booming in construction in all form and shape. Contrasting with rest of the country, the scale of construction happening in Port Moresby is unprecedented.
The economic values of all gigantic infrastructure developments are in alarming proportion. If not doubled, it is tripled the factual cost of putting up the projects. Should independent expertise is engaged to study and do variation on the costing; surely extravagance unscrupulous spending would be revealed.
Particularly sporting venues, in haste, trying to meet the deadline and delivered incomplete jobs and remain as such. Sir Hubert Murry stadium is progressing at snail’s pace.
The sport’s Minister exaggerated and today date, he over exaggerate claiming, under his ministry, he has delivered world class stadiums. I have been to number of stadiums in a developed country and never witnessed a stadium with scaffold frames embedded to the structure. Scaffold is a temporary structure used in the building construction industry as working platform to work at heights. Never one would envisage a scaffold stadium in the sporting fraternity anywhere in the world.
Naïve Papua New Guineans are conned by Justine Tkachenko’s propaganda going around chest beating like as if he is the only on earth who can deliver world class stadiums when infect, what delivered under his ministry were all below mediocrity. Not even near to Cowboys stadium in Townsville, Australia. Adding to the dismay, lacking amenities, concrete slabs without seats, and incomplete stadium without necessary fixtures isn’t laudable.
OVERHEAD FOOTBRIDGES:
Adding to the infrastructure development is the construction of footbridges (Koki, Hohola incomplete & Vision city under construction). The notion to constructing overhead footbridges is noble and laudable. Such structure is appropriate, commendable and in dire need, however, from the outset at design stage, need for special categories of people weren’t incorporated in the design and that entails the notable omission of ramp.
Every overhead footbridge must have two way access and must be user friendly. What does it mean by two way access? One, access by steps and two, access by ramp. People of agility can quickly ascend and descend the footbridge using the steps. However, for the convenience of fragile members of the society, ideally, ramp is the way. Ramp is suitable for aging population, mothers and children, mothers with babies in frames and people with disabilities.
Essentially, indispensable components to the structure apparently are for safety reasons and that include, slip résistance embedded onto the edge of each step and a handle bar on either side for the purposes of support. Such fixtures form part of the structure for efficient and effective usage of such public facilities.
Society (NCD) is made of able and disables, young and old (fragile), women and children, therefore, institutions of state, when planning to erect public facilities of such magnitude for communal use, considering all age factors, facilities must be designed and erected to cater for everyone’s need.
As it is, it is to the greater disadvantage of less mobile members of the community and this isn’t fair. This is a reflection or deflection of lack of vision, inconsiderate and inhuman if you like. It does not make economic sense spending exorbitant money on extravagant projects which can’t be maximised by all.
Visionary leadership is too detail and considerate of every members in the society and always fair to everyone. Can’t claim the leadership being fair when less mobile are disadvantaged. Leadership must account for details that fall through the cracks ensuring nothing is omitted or misses out.
FOOTPATH PAVEMENTS:
Furthermore, NCD municipal authority isn’t doing enough to be too detail in compliance to standard. Contracts awarded for footpath pavements are way of the mark and not of standard. Poor workmanship is evident with the final touches.
Dirt is dug up and heaped on the side and no one knows what to do with the dirt. Neither the contractor nor NCDC has any vision in that regard. The pile of dug up dirt mounted on the side deforms the original landscape. NCDC is duty bound in its awarding of contract ensuring contractors at their cost dispose the dirt elsewhere and not leaving the heap of dirt on the side and walk off.
This also accounts for poor management and lack of vision in NCDC’s endeavours to providing municipal services under beautification, rehabilitation and infrastructure program activities.
One can’t do anything anyhow. It just can’t be. Everything has standard and work undertaken must meet all technical specifications and requirements to the standard. NCD isn’t a cowboy town or an outback village in the remote area of Abau district where things can be done indifferently.
Since PNG gained independence from Australian colonial rule, I am sure we have adapted to A/NZ standard. There shouldn’t be any lame excuses for deviation but one thing is for sure, people in responsible positions if not incompetent than they are ignorant and sleeping on the job. Quality can’t be deliverable because of complacency on the part of regulatory agency and things have fallen through the cracks.
Anything for public usage, public health and safety is paramount and plays pivotal part for safety is of indispensable value and no way can safety requirement be trivialised. A road, sporting venue, overhead footbridge, footpath pavement, in all of the above and many more, safety aspect is crucial and important component need considered at the design stage through to completion.
QUICK JOB FOR EASY BULKS AND POOR WORKMANSHIP SUBSTITUTES QUALITY.
