Banana Block youths clean Lae city saying they are no trouble-makers

RESIDENT of Banana Block in Lae’s Ward Two area say they are not trouble-makers but people who look after the city.
Community leader and spokesperson of Banana Block Youths (BBY) told The National yesterday that their settlement was an established settlement that had been there for the last 32 years and they contributed positively to the development of Lae.
Umba clarified this after authorities in the city including police and the Lands board have embarked on a move to remove all new illegal settlements popping up in the city.
Banana Block was among some of the illegal settlements being signalled out for eviction to take place.
“The people who come and sell betelnuts, consume alcohol, harass people and involve in petty crimes do not reside in Banana Block,” Umba said.
“They come from all over Lae city and the nine districts of Morobe,” he said.
“But just because our settlement is close to the city precincts we are often blamed for it,” Umba said.
Umba said they have over the years used their own resources to clean the city without government help and did not ask for payments from authorities.
“Last year we did a major clean-up campaign with the aid of police but one of our members was killed by the crew of a PMV and we gave up,” Umba said.
Umba said the settlement they live in had more than a thousand people that included school children, government and private sector employees and business people.
“We ask the authorities to discuss with us so that we can find a win-win situation to the much-talked-about eviction issue,” Umba said.