THE letter “Nightclubs promote evil, should be banned” (Jan 7) by Camillus Vovore, First Secretary to the Ministry of Justice & Attorney-General, raises some interesting observations.
It was in response to the comments by David Passirem’s of the National AIDS Council that nightclubs do not promote evil, rebutting the comments by the Justice Minister last year that nightclubs are promoting evil and should be banned.
This is debatable as people will have different opinions depending on how the issue personally affects them, either directly or indirectly.
I feel Vovore’s support of his minister’s personal opinion about banning nightclubs as noble.
Nevertheless, he could have informed readers what the official Government policy is regarding nightclubs.
It is a worry that we have no clear policy on this as well and other issues like gambling, guns and prostitution, etc.
The Government is still procrastinating on the gun committee’s report after K1 million was spent on getting views more than a year ago.
With due respect to the Justice Ministry, making such a sweeping statement does not help. It needs to be backed up by some research data and ways to address this problem.
The Government does not seem to see nightclubs as promoting evil. Otherwise, we would have seen nightclubs closed down.
On the other hand, like many people, I too, am concerned with the negative effects it would have on our entertainment industry, especially nightclubs.
A total ban is not the answer. Not only is that impractical, but it may even have a detrimental chain-reaction into other social problems we already have now.
An effective way is to try various control mechanisms to minimise the negative effects of nightclub activities rather than closing them down altogether for obvious reasons.
In addition, the public is very interested to know how the Justice Ministry is tackling evils such as political corruption, gun-related crime, prostitution, gambling, rapes, murder and other forms of violence in PNG.
The concerned ministry needs to work hard in consultation with relevant stakeholders to formulate good sound practical policies on how best to address these social-related challenges.
Besides, banning nightclubs is unrealistic as it may lead to other serious social problems.
What is important is for Vovore to assure the public on the progress his ministry has made to date about regulating nightclub activities with the aim of minimising the negative effects perceived within the entertainment industry.
I see the ineffective policing and enforcement of entertainment industries like nightclubs and a lack of support from fellow MPs must be frustrating for Dr Marat.
Many MPs are not supporting the move because they are seen frequenting nightclubs.
Whether or not nightclubs are perceived to promote evil, they do serve the community in many different ways, not just to provide jobs or pay taxes.
They are places where people want to go to unwind from their daily stresses of life.
Here, people meet and relate with each other both for professional or personal reasons. If nightclubs were shut down, the Government will need to create other social relief outlets for the people.
In short, nightclubs provide entertainment for people to relax, who otherwise will be up to no good and doing more evil things, if nightclubs did not exist.
A total ban is not the only answer to fix our many social problems. The way to tackle this is through good effective regulations to better control nightclub activities by making them safe, clean and enjoyable for workers, families, out-of-town visitors or other patrons.
More readers need to say what they think about regulating our entertainment industry as this will go a long way to help our Government make better policies in future.

Reginald Renagi
Rigo