Govt to deal with illicit trade, transnational crime

By CLARISSA MOI
THE National Government will be working with the PNG Business Council to start dealing with illicit trade and transnational crimes, Deputy Prime Minister Davis Steven says.
Speaking during the launch of Atlas Steel PNG’s modular houses in Port Moresby on Friday, Steven said the Government had enough of illicit trade and transnational crimes in the country.
“Today, I just want to be able to announce on behalf of the Government that we have had enough,” he said.
“The time has come for Papua New Guinea to take seriously our different sectors: the business sector, the economic sector.
“This is one reason why in the next few weeks, we want to engage with the PNG Business Council to start to deal with illicit trade and transnational crimes and the effort to eliminate the import of counterfeit products and fake items across our borders.
“We are very concerned.
“In fact before coming here, I attended two taskforce meetings: taskforce on the coronavirus and taskforce that should enforce our laws against illicit trade and evasion of counterfeit products into our country.
“So this taskforce attempt is also our evidence and our strategy to deal with our issues today.
“Issues in which the underlying objective is a better future for this country, a stronger economy and equitable opportunities for everyone.
“We all want to lift the standard of living. We all want to work towards better livelihoods for our people, a better story for the next generation.
“It is critical therefore, that we create a healthy and a wealthy society in any partnership that the Government engages in.”
Steven also noted that corruption robs the opportunity for good companies like Atlas Steel PNG to be competitive and to continue to advance forward.