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By ELIZABETH MIAE
CITY residents have been urged to change their attitudes and start
cleaning up their backyards if we want a healthy and clean city.
That was the encouragement from NCD Governor Powes Parkop when he
addressed hundreds who gathered to witness the launch of the 2007
citywide clean-up campaign at Tabari place in Port Moresby yesterday.
He told the gathering that it was not NCDC alone to clean up the city
but it was everyone’s responsibility.
He reiterated the call he made during the medical symposium to control
the sale and consumption of betelnut, saying the public must change
their habit of chewing betelnut.
He said the only way to get rid off betel wastes was to chew betelnut at
home and not in public.
“The cleanliness of the city portrays the attitude of the people. Unless
you start to clean up your own home, community, city and the country,
the national leaders will continue to ignore the plea for a clean city,”
he added.
NCDC gets an annual budget of over K100 million but is likely to spend
more on cleaning up the city rather than on other basic services.
The launch was the second part of the campaign which NCDC is now calling
on all city residents to dispose hard rubbish such as metals, pieces of
iron and others that are of no use in their backyards.
He said that the third part of the campaign was the implementation of
laws for residents to clean their own homes according to the Public
Health Act and the Environment Act.
Health inspectors will be sent out to inspect every home to see that it
is clean, home owners who fail to comply with the law will be charged,
the same will be applied to retail outlets.
In launching the campaign Governor-General Sir Paulias Matane supported
the call by the governor for a change in people’s attitude.
He said Port Moresby could become the richest, cleanest and peaceful
city in the world if people changed their negative ways.
 
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