Law,order must be priority for govt

LAW and order issues must be addressed if Papua New Guinea to attract more foreign investors into the country.
Last week, a shareholders’ agreement and security deed for the Porgera Mine in Wabag was signed which will see the mine reopening soon.
The mine has been closed since April 2020 following the government’s decision not to renew the developer Barrick Niugini Limited’s special mining lease.
Wabag police boss has requested the province’s seven MPs to support police in restoring and maintaining law and order, now that the Porgera mine is to be reopened.
“What good are their projects and infrastructure if our people’s mindset is not properly conditioned to respect lives, property and institutions as we recently witnessed?
“I urge our elected leaders in Enga to give priority to law and order as the number one agenda on their list of priorities for this term.”
The country’s (PNG) business environment is favorable and can grow with the support from investors which but that will not progress with security concerns.
We also have concerns from the Bank South Pacific Financial Group on law and order situations in the country being an obstacle to business investment and growth of financial institutions.
Top cop in Madang has called on the elected Members of Parliament prioritise law and order adding “’people are tired of living in fear; they want to see change.
PNG is the largest economy among the Pacific Islands and offers enormous trade and investment potential.
Key investment prospects are in infrastructure development, a growing urban-based middle-class market, abundant natural resources in mining, oil and gas, forestry, and fisheries. Concerns about personal security have been noticeable in the country for many years.
Personal security figures regularly in travel advisories issued by foreign governments.
International news coverage of PNG is often about violence or crime, reinforcing the country’s reputation as a dangerous and lawless place.
The main security threats are non-traditional, including urban crime, gender-based violence, corruption, arms trafficking, border protection, resource poaching, climate change, natural disasters, and transnational crime.
There are no single and straight-forward recommendations, formula or secrets to reduce law and order problems anywhere in the world.
PNG we all know is confronted with pressing socio-economic, political, legal and administrative issues with unemployment also an area of concern.
Unemployment is considered to be one of the prime social evils that is affecting our lives today.
Its economic impact is not as important as its social impact.
Most people in society today depend upon jobs to earn their living.
Therefore, any situation which negatively affects the jobs of people will affect the fabric of the entire society as a whole.
And this is one is in PNG, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.
According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), unemployed people are those who report that they are without work, that they are available for work and that they have taken active steps to find work over a period of them.
For PNG, the government can only help eradicate this epidemic through promoting investment in the private sector.
Jobs are created when there is investment in the country.
To make PNG more competitive and attractive for investors (including smallholders) requires improving roads and other infrastructure and utilities, affordable telecommunication access, ports and shipping services, seriously addressing crime, corruption and excessive red-tape and public sector inefficiency and boosting literacy, numeracy and technical, vocational and professional training.
The Government must address issues on law and order, social and make policies attractive in order to lure investors.