Parkop lifts buai ban

BETEL nut can again be sold anywhere in Port Moresby after National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop announced yesterday the ban has been lifted.
And he has warned police not to go around the city stopping street vendors from going about their daily business.
He said there has been no authorisation from his office for police to do that.
Parkop, in a media conference yesterday, said the ban on the selling of betel nuts in city was lifted and vendors should be allowed to do their business freely.
Parkop said he received reports of police officers harassing and attacking betel nut sellers and “I don’t know why they were going around putting innocent people’s lives at risk”.
He said there were three incidents reported to him and he viewed the police action as an orchestrated tactic to tarnish his name as governor, either indirectly or directly.
Parkop said the incidents took place on Wednesday in Down Town, Gerehu and Tokarara where police went with marked vehicles to harass innocent people.
“It’s on social media and everywhere and I don’t understand the rationale for this action, there is no authorisation from my office to carry out such operations by police in the city, whether its betel nut vendors or anybody else,” he said.
“This is also seen as a dirty type of campaign.”