Wau Waria Open · Morobe Province · Papua New Guinea
Wau Waria is one of Papua New Guinea's newest districts, created by Parliament in March 2022. The District Development Authority plans and delivers services with the three Local-Level Governments and 43 ward development committees, so that no ward is left behind.
District at a glance
Public notice
Students from Wau Waria at a tertiary institution, or accepted into one, can apply for the DDA's fee subsidy. Applications close on 30 January 2027 for continuing students and 26 February 2027 for new intakes. Apply online or collect a paper form from the District office.
The district
Wau Waria takes in the gold-mining town of Wau, the surrounding rural wards of the Wau valley, and the Waria valley along the border with Oro Province. It was carved out of the former Bulolo District.
The Wau Waria District Development Authority (DDA) is the district's planning and spending body. Its board, chaired by the Member for Wau Waria Open, brings together the heads of the three Local-Level Governments. The District Administration, led by the Chief Executive Officer, carries out the board's decisions across seven sectors.
Because the district started in 2022 with no headquarters, staff establishment or systems of its own, much of the first term has gone into building the institution itself: accounts, records, planning and the people to run them.
How the district came to be
Leadership
Member for Wau Waria Open. Chairman, Special Parliamentary Committee on Communications, and Chairman, Citizenship Advisory Committee.
President, Waria Rural LLG.
District Administrator and CEO of the Wau Waria DDA. Heads the District Administration.
| LLG | Head | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Wau Urban LLG | Mayor Hon. Gedion Kipusing | Wau town |
| Wau Rural LLG | President Hon. John Aki | Rural wards of the Wau valley |
| Waria Rural LLG | President Hon. Maita Togopo | The Waria river valley |
What the DDA does
Every kina the DDA spends is budgeted, released and acquitted under one of seven sectors.
Primary care close to home, clean water and referral support.
Classrooms, school support and the tertiary scholarship subsidy.
Programmes with young people, women and churches.
Roads, bridges, buildings and communication towers that connect the wards.
The district office, records, land mobilisation and support to the LLGs.
Livelihoods and enterprise, from tea and cocoa to small business.
Peace and good order with the police, village courts and ward leaders.
Projects
Selected projects approved by the District Development Authority. The full list will be published with the Performance Report 2022–2026.
| Project | Sector | Year | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinetop water supply and five-year WASH programme With ADRA PNG and the PNG–Australia Partnership; school fencing at Pinetop Primary | Health | 2026 | K2.25m | Under way |
| Kasangare Junior High School staff housing Eight furnished teachers' houses with water tanks and septic systems | Education | 2026 | K1.61m | Under way |
| Morobe–Northern Highway road works Earthworks and gravelling on the road toward Garaina | Infrastructure | 2026 | — | Under way |
| District road maintenance machinery Earth-moving machinery for district road maintenance | Infrastructure | 2023–24 | K5m | Delivered |
| Wau to Biaru emergency road works 26.8 km between Warabum and Biaru | Infrastructure | 2023 | K1.2m | Completed |
| Grace Memorial Secondary School upgrade Major and minor maintenance works | Education | 2023–24 | K1m | Delivered |
| Wau Primary School rehabilitation Major and minor maintenance works | Education | 2023–24 | K1m | Delivered |
| Wau Police infrastructure and vehicles Police duplex house and two police vehicles | Law & Justice | 2023–24 | K917k | Delivered |
| Ambulance for the Wau health sector Fully kitted ambulance for medical evacuations | Health | 2023 | K328k | Delivered |
| District Office complex Completion of the district office | Administration | 2023–24 | — | 50% (at 2024) |
Values in kina as approved. Source: Wau-Waria Consolidated Performance Report 2022–2024, Annex 1, and DDA announcements.
News
Pinetop welcomed a new community water supply, fencing for Pinetop Primary School and a five-year WASH programme with ADRA PNG and the PNG–Australia Partnership. K2.25 million is committed, with the programme to extend toward Wau Town.
Read the NBC reportThe DDA committed K1,609,330.80 for eight furnished staff houses at Kasangare Junior High School in the Waria, to attract and keep teachers in remote communities.
Read the NBC reportWith Australian Government support, 22 district staff completed monitoring and evaluation training on the SMAP survey platform, making Wau Waria the first district to train its staff on it.
Read the NBC reportCouncillors of the three new LLGs were sworn in at inaugural meetings from 25 to 27 November, and the district elected its first Mayor and LLG Presidents.
Read the NBC reportThe new district administration building at Garaina Station will carry the name of the late Deputy Prime Minister and Bulolo MP Sam Basil, who championed the creation of Wau Waria.
Read the NBC reportThe Department of National Planning and Monitoring gave K5 million for the Wau Vocational Centre, the upgrade of Wau Primary to a Junior High School, and Grace Memorial Secondary School.
Read the EMTV reportThe HEWA Programme
Delivering integrated, ward-led development in every ward of Wau Waria, through the structures our people already have, so no ward is left behind.
Education
Started in 2023 by the Member for Wau Waria Open with the DDA, the TSSS pays part of the annual fees of students from Wau Waria at universities, colleges and technical institutions across Papua New Guinea, easing the load on parents, most of whom are rural farmers.
The DDA makes one bulk payment to each institution and sends it the list of its students. UPNG is the exception: the subsidy goes into the student's own bank account, and the student pays it online to UPNG. Families pay the balance of the fees. You do not need the institution's bank details; DDA staff add them.
| Year | Students | Institutions | Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 150+ | — | K500,000 |
| 2024 | 169 | 33 | K700,000 |
| 2025 | 227 | — | K869,195 |
| 2026 | 213 | 34 | K800,000 |
| 2027 | Applications open 30-Nov-2026 | K1,000,000 | |
2026 intake: 89 women and 124 men; 119 new students and the rest continuing. Students come from all three LLGs.
Photos
Documents
Public documents of the Wau Waria District Development Authority.
For DDA staff
The Wau Waria DDA Digital Space. Staff track cheques and acquittals and submit receipts and reports from the field. DDA Admin staff screen TSSS scholarship applications. Financial requests and claims are coming soon. Every staff member signs in with a Wau Waria account; staff without Microsoft 365 can get a free one from DDA Admin.
Contact
Wau Waria District Development Authority
PO Box 2950, Lae 411
Morobe Province
spacekumul@wauwaria.gov.pg
Hon. Marsh Narewec, MP
Member for Wau Waria Open
Through the District Administration
Apply online at Spacekumul from 30 November 2026
Questions: spacekumul@wauwaria.gov.pg