Driven by visionary leadership approach that refuses to rest while grassroots’ problems remain unresolved, Destiny Party Leader and Member for Wau Waria, Hon Marsh Narewec has turned a year of silent strategic thinking and personal groundwork into a first-of-its-kind, home-grown ward development blueprint, he calls the Wau Waria Healthy Ward (HEWA) Program, designed to take funding, responsibility and measurable development directly to the district’s 43 wards.

This makes Wau Waria, Morobe’s new district, the first in the country to take this ward up approach. Pioneered by Hon Narewec himself as the District’s Development Authority (DDA) Chairman, the HEWA program was pre-launched on Thursday, the 27th of August 2026, with the model built around 15 Key Focus Areas that measure development at the grassroots level.

Rather than having the people and their councilors repeatedly write, text or seek out their MP for everyday community needs, Hon Narewec said his approach is to empower the ward councilors to address those needs directly.

“As a leader, I must find a way to address the problems and find solutions to your everyday queries, and I’ve decided that part of the solution is to throw it back to you to deal with the problems at your level instead of looking for me every time,” he told the 43 ward councilors who had just completed their induction training that day.

At the heart of this HEWA program is a significant shift in how development funding reaches the communities. The Destiny Party Leader said government funding channeled to the Wau Waria District Development Authority (DDA) will be directed straight to the 43 wards. This will cut down on the long process practiced by the current system where funding from the National Government has to come through the Morobe Provincial Government, down to the district, then to the Local Level Governments to be distributed to the wards, at which most times never trickle down to the councilors at the ward levels.

_{Wau Waria DDA’s Chief Executive Officer, John Orebut (far left in grey) with some of the 43 councilors, Wau Rural LLG President, John Aki (centre in yellow) and the Wau town deputy mayor, posing with the blueprint HEWA program hard copies.}

With that, Hon Narewec encouraged the councilors to establish ‘recognized ward development accounts’ through which, funding can be managed and accounted for. He announced that the Wau Waria DDA will provide K50, 000 to each ward, while future funding is expected to be determined according to individual ward populations, but that will come with proven accountability.

Each councilor is required to report how his or her ward funds were spent and clearly outline what was achieved. Those results will be measured against HEWA’s 15 Key Focus Areas, with continued funding tied to this reporting and demonstration progress.

“I have done my part as your MP, it is up to you now to do your part and that is to achieve at least one or two of the 15 Key Focus Areas of your choice from this K50, 000 moving forward,” he told the councilors.

The 15 Key Focus Areas cover Land, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Electricity, Connectivity and Access, Modern Housing, Early Childhood Education, Primary Healthcare, Spiritual Empowerment, Social Empowerment, Economic Empowerment, Positive Parenting, Nutrition, Safety, Clean Environment and Governance. Each of these carries baseline indicators that will allow the Wau Waria DDA to monitor, cross-check and measure the ward-level progress annually.

For Hon Narewec, the program responds to a longstanding weakness in the existing system where government funding and policies may exist, but their impact is not always seen, touched or felt by people at the grassroots level. Hence, as Chairman of the DDA, his solution is to directly make the ward leaders responsible for delivering measurable results, and as a result bringing development closest to the people on the ground.

Developed for over a year, the HEWA Program draws inspiration from the Healthy Islands concept, but expands into a broader framework covering virtually every aspect of community development, also aligning its focus areas with Papua New Guinea’s Vision 2050 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Importantly, Hon Narewec wants HEWA to become more than a one-off political initiative because the new district program currently has no established national budget item or policy mechanism, its documentation is being formalized so the model can eventually be incorporated into the National Government’s financial system and become a permanent annual development mechanism for the new Wau Waria district.

That is why Thursday’s event was a pre-launch rather than the full launch. The HEWA Program books and electronic copies are currently being distributed to key stakeholders, development partners and consultants, as well as the people of Wau Waria for scrutiny and feedback before the program is formalized and formally launched.

Strategically pre-launching the program straight after a three-days induction training of all 43 ward councilors, conducted by the Morobe Provincial Administration, gave Hon Narewec the opportunity to place the blueprint before the very leaders expected to drive it on the ground, all gathered in one room.

The program will be implemented progressively, supported by practical district initiatives including a planned corrugated roofing-iron factory and the progressive provision of sawmills and chainsaws to the wards. Timber and roofing materials produced through these initiatives are expected to support several HEWA focus areas, particularly housing and community infrastructure.

_{Wau Waria DDA Chairman, Destiny Party Leader and Wau Waria MP, Hon Marsh Narewec and his DDA CEO, John Orebut, with the 43 ward councilors, three LLG Presidents and the Wau deputy town mayor after the HEWA pre-launch}

Under Hon Narewec’s model, the MP and DDA will provide the framework and resources assisting councilors to take responsibility at their ward levels, with measurable results determining the next round of support. It is a deliberate attempt to turn Wau Waria’s wards from recipients waiting for development into active drivers of their own development.

“We will not rush this, we will build it properly, ward by ward so what we deliver will last,” Narewec said.

Despite the enormous challenge of building a new district as a first-time MP within a single five-year term, the Destiny Party Leader, Hon Marsh Narewec remains determined to pioneer practical solutions and drive key developments, one breakthrough at a time towards his vision of making Wau Waria great again.