IPA calls for cooperation

THE Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) says there is a need for Government agencies to work together to ensure investors coming into the country comply with the country’s laws and regulations.
IPA is the agency responsible to promote the country and bring in investors.
Managing director Clarence Hoot said the challenge was foreign investors going into business activities that were regulated by other institutions.
“For instance, we bring them (investors) in and when they go into logging, then Forestry has to come in,” he said.
Hoot was responding to Northern Governor and chairman for the special parliamentary committee for public sector reform Garry Juffa’s statement on Thursday that the IPA needed to screen the investors and hold them accountable to the country’s laws.
“It just can’t be allowing anyone to come in, yes we want investment, but we want the right type of investment,” Juffa said.
“If you go around Papua New Guinea now, there are so many non-compliant actors.
“They come here claiming to be doing business in this area, trade in this business and off they go doing something different and in many instances breaking many of our laws and getting away with it.”
Juffa said the IPA could play a bigger role in keeping these businesses in line.
He said the special parliamentary committee for public sector reforms was meant to scrutinise State-owned entities, disciplined forces and Government agencies to bring them up to a world standard.
“That’s what we need right now, we are not a tiny developing country in the middle of the Pacific,” he said.
“We are a growing economy with huge potential, if we are not careful, then what will happen is that we will let the wrong type of people and organisations into this country who will disrespect our laws and benefit from exploiting our resources.”
Prime Minister James Marape said in Parliament last week that there were laws in place that guided businesses, both foreign and local however, it was a lack of policing that had seen the abuse.
Marape said the Government was encouraging investors to come in and do business but they needed to come in at a certain level.
Meanwhile, Hoot noted that there was an opportunity for IPA and central agencies to work together to make sure investors were responsible.