Informal sector needs more support from govt

 THE informal economy needs more support from the National Government in terms of resource allocation for projects and trainings, the Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council (CIMC) says.

CIMC said this during the informal economy sectoral committee meeting in Port Moresby last week.

Informal economy sectoral senior project officer Busa Wenogo said: “The government recognises the importance of the informal economy with the passing of the Informal sector development and control Act 2004.

“With the introduction of the national informal economy policy, there is more to be done in terms of proper enforcement of the legislation and the effective implementation of the policy accordingly.”

Wenogo said the informal economy is defined within the context of selling of betel nut and cigarettes, which he said was a very narrow view of the informal economy. 

“It must be understood that this sector covers a larger part of the economy and it cuts across so many areas and involves people from all walks of life, including women, children, youths the elderly and the people living with disability. “

The informal economy in the country involves almost 80% of the total population in terms of income generating activities. 

More emphasis was placed on the government helping the economy through mitigation of high cost of living, eradication of poverty, combating rise in the law and order problems, generating and spreading income across various levels of the community.

Wenogo said these could be addressed with the partnership from the private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations(CBOs) and churches.