K70m district hospital to transform healthcare in Usino

Students amongst the crowd that attended the unveiling of the K70 million district hospital *(Image: NBC News)*

A new K70 million Level Four district hospital is set to be constructed at Walium in the Usino local level government [LLG] area, bringing major relief to thousands of rural villagers in Madang.

The health facility was announced by Usino-Bundi MP Vincent Kumura during a official visit to the district headquarters at Walium last week.

Kumura said the health project is part of a multi-million kina development package planned to upgrade basic services across the district.

The Level Four hospital is expected to significantly improve frontline medical care, reduce costly travel to Madang town for specialized treatment, and cater to the growing population of Usino-Bundi.

Kumura said the project anchors a broader health and community welfare initiative, which includes a K12 million Water, Sanitation and Hygiene [WASH] project currently being rolled out starting at Ramu Sugar, a solar energy project for Gusap, and a K2 million community development center jointly funded with the Department of Community Development, Youth and Religion.

Kumura reassured the locals that he was committed to continuing and elevating the work initiated by his predecessor.

"I want to clear some questions once and for all," Kumura told the crowd.

"I came to keep the light burning, to retrace the footsteps of Jimmy Uguro (late MP), to continue the works he started. I did not come to spoil his work. I came to move his works to another level, and I want you to understand this."

Local MP Vincent Kumura welcomed by locals during the visit at Walium *(Image: NBC News)*

Kumura revealed that his administration inherited an empty District Development Authority [DDA] account, K250,000 in the operating account, and an outstanding K1.2 million tax debt owed to the Internal Revenue Commission [IRC] when taking office following last year's by-election.

He confirmed that the IRC debt has since been fully settled, allowing the district to move forward with major capital works.

He urged people across Usino, Bundi, and Gama LLGs to remain united and support transparent governance.

"Speak one voice only, united Usino, Bundi, Gama. Distribute services equally depending on the size, length, and breadth of our LLGs," Kumura said.

"However, based on the principles of good governance, I will not support previous works that have no reports from the district administration because public funds belong to the people."

Kumura expressed gratitude to government line agencies, corporate partners including Ramu NiCo Limited, and development stakeholders for supporting Usino-Bundi's development agenda.