PUBLIC SERVICE Minister Bart Philemon says Daru isn’t on the verge of collapse – it has already collapsed.

Mr Philemon was reacting to a recent article in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier which said the town had a hospital with no doctors, no jail, no court and all the schools had closed.

He said since the provincial government moved its headquarters to Kiunga in the north of the province about 10 years ago, Daru has fallen into a sorry state.

Mr Philemon said the Western Province makes enough money from investment in the Ok Tedi mine to sort out its issues, however the money is being misspent.

“It’s all about provincial government and national government not doing the right thing in terms of not using the huge inflow of income to address the basic issue of maintaining the hospital, maintaining the prisons, maintaining schools, and maintaining health centres and so forth,” he said

Mr Philemon said he is currently in dialogue with the governor of Western Province, Bob Danaya, who he says isn’t running the province according to due process.

Source: Radio New Zealand International, 26 September