Fighting crime in Port Moresby

Letters

NATIONAL Capital District over the past few months has seen an increase in criminal activities.
Recently there was a statement in the media saying NCD police were facing challenges in their efforts to fight crime.
The report said that NCD police commander Perou N’dranou has called on his officers to rise to the challenge of combatting crime.
He also encouraged police officers to perform.
He stressed that in order to stop the increase in criminal activities, police officers should rise to the occasion and take on the challenge.
There are many reasons why crime is on the rise in NCD and some of them are unemployment, poverty, and lack of police manpower and funding.
To deal with crime in NCD, the government should create more employment opportunities by attracting more overseas investors.
The more investment we have at NCD the more jobs there will be and the more opportunities locals will have.
A good example is the New Britain Palm Oil company (NBPO) which, according to The National Business section, employs about 4865 workers in Papua New Guinea.
If a single company can employ that many people, imagine how many more can find work if multiple companies set up here.
Surely National Capital D needs more big companies like NBPO.
Secondly, the government needs to improve and expand the informal sector, which is dominated by locals.
The Government should not continue to turn a blind eye to this sector because it does contribute to the economy. Developing the informal sector will create better opportunities for local people, improve the standard of living and in doing so help reduce crime.
Thus, programmes like SMEs and the Government Credit Loans Scheme should be promoted, embraced and made to flourish.
Thirdly, the government should develop some poverty reduction programmes because poverty is one of the reasons people resort to crime for a living.
We used to have a programme on TV WAN some years ago hosted by the current Governor of East Sepik Allan Bird.
It was called Holim Graun na Graun bai Lukautim yu which aimed to encourage people to return to the land.
It is similar to what the Coffee Industry Cooperation (CIC) in Goroka uses for promotion, Lukautim Kopi na Kopi bai lukautim yu.
The message they are trying to portray is one has to work to have an income.
People are lazy so they live in poverty therefore more awareness is needed to help them to do something.
And finally, the Government needs to adequately fund police operations.
Police officers and police work in National Capital District need funding. Most times people blame police for the rise in crime but it needs to be understood that police officers are mere human beings and they therefore need the cooperation of the public and funding from the government to deal with crime in the city. At the moment police in NCD neither has the manpower nor the money to be able to do a good job and make Port Moresby safe.

Chris Iatau Pati
@PNGIPA