City rangers giving NCD a bad name

ALLEGATIONS of harassment of innocent people in Port Moresby by the National Capital District Commission’s city rangers continue to be major cause for concern.
The city rangers are unemployed young men from the NCD settlements who have been engaged by City Hall to enforce the ban on betel nut sales in the nation’s capital.
Under Governor Powes Parkop’s master plan to beautify the nation’s capital, they have been engaged as casual workers to help rid the city of betel nut vendors and trash.
They were heavily involved in enforcing the betel nut ban in the city when it was first introduced.
Prior to the ban, the city rangers targeted residents and other people within the NCD but extended their enforcement activities to include rural people travelling into the city when the ban came into effect.
A good number of citizens have had encounters with the rangers and most protest that the rangers’ approach leaves much to be desired.
The latest allegation of harassment comes from three brothers and a sister who were assaulted by rangers engaged as secutiry guards at Ela Beach.
Reports from NCD say the family violated the rules which included entering prohibited areas and not following instriuctions from the guards.
The family, on the other hand, say the children were on their way to an afternoon fellowship event at the St Mary’s Cathedral. They passed by the basketball courts when a ranger confronted them saying they were not supposed to be there.
Are there signs in the vicinity advising members of the public where to and where not to walk?
The Ela Beach incident is now widely publicised through the social and mainstream media.
The city rangers’ performance has been woeful, to say the least, and the mounting criticisms and allegations of harassment of innocent people highlights an urgent need for a review.
Clearly, what started off as a genuine move for the good seems to have gone off course.
There have been raging debates about the legality of the city rangers. Are they trying to carry out police responsibilities?
Let us be realistic. The police force does not have the manpower to be hanging around bus stops trying to keep order. That is why we think Governor Parkop’s city rangers are not such as bad idea.
Better structured mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure that city rangers are doing a good job and doing it within the law.
City rangers in our opinion are not such a bad idea, Governor Parkop for they enforce the betel nut and littering ban and provide employment for youths even if only on a casual basis.
But our good Governor might want to think about refining the idea so there are no chances of it being abused and ending up hurting the very people who are support to be the beneficiaries.
Parkop needs to consider taking the rangers under his wings and getting NCDC to provide proper training so that they know what they are doing.