All must work in nation’s interest

 REVELATIONS by PNG Customs Services Commissioner Ray Paul of a fraudulent system of clearing cargo from air and sea ports in Port Moresby and Lae is cause for grave concern.

He revealed that these fraudulent activities have cost PNG Customs Services K1 million since February this year.

He said 28 cases of fraudulent activities were being investigated by PNG Customs Services and the police. So far, 10 people have been arrested and five charged in connection with the illegal removal of cargo.

The racket involved the illegal removal of machinery, including vehicles, backhoes and road graders. Cooking oil and other goods brought in containers were included.

“It is interesting that there have been people working around the clock outside the system, with fraudulent documents to defraud the state,” Paul told the media last Thursday. 

It is alarming to note that some big companies were “caught up with these issues”. We commend the PNG Customs Services for improving its operations, which enabled its officers to expose the racket.

Nonetheless, the fraudsters are still at work and Paul has urged business houses in Port Moresby and Lae to follow legal procedures. He warned them to be wary of people they engaged as customs brokers.

This is not the first time the Customs Commission has appealed to people to respect Papua New Guinea’s laws and follow due process.

Last year, Paul made a similar call after a foreign businessman operating in the country allegedly offered a bribe to PNG Customs Services officers at the Jackson International Airport to release his suitcase containing illegally imported cigarettes.

The suitcase had been held back by officers two days earlier after the man’s wife was caught trying to smuggle the items through customs. 

The man had gone to the airport to pick up his wife and was advised by PNG Customs to pay K6150 in duty and penalty costs before the suitcase could be released. 

Instead of paying the required fees, the businessman chose to offer a bribe to officers who refused and alerted the police who subsequently arrested him. Paul commended his officers for refusing to accept the K1000 bribe.

The officers concerned have demonstrated honesty and integrity.  In doing so, they have shown that service to their employer and country is paramount, not to mention the personal integrity and peace of mind which would have been compromised had they accepted the bribe.

The Jackson Airport incident may be an isolated case but there have been situations where our law enforcement and investment promotion agencies have had to face bribes, inducement or intimidation from foreigners as well their own countrymen and women.

Incidents like this show what some foreigners think of our country and people – the so-called “Land of the unexpected” where anything goes and one can easily bribe his or her way around.

As Paul said, the airport incident should serve as a warning to those others thinking of smuggling goods in the country, both citizens and foreigners alike.

The country welcomes foreign businessmen and investments by multinational corporations but unfortunately there are some who do not respect and abide by the country’s laws or even treat those placed there as the first line of defence against threats to the country’s social and economic security with contempt. 

In this age of globalisation, increased interaction between and among regional and international friends can only flourish upon mutual respect and trust and not on any notion of one nation or group’s economic or political superiority over another. 

A recent address by Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato highlighted the upholding of mutually beneficial and respectable relationships.

Pato said globalisation provided great opportunities for trade and better relations yet there was the threat of security insofar as in cross-border crime and human trafficking were concerned.

In the words of the minister, the country faces new and emerging social and political opportunities and challenges brought about by globalisation.

It is imperative to distinguish between elements of globalisation that best serve the national interest and those which do not add value to PNG’s interests and aspirations.