Make city charges fair

I REFER to Frustrated City Resident’s letter about Port Moresby city rates (The National July 31).
Good issue. NCDC should explain to the registered property owners why some people in the city are paying in full for services and some aren’t.
In general, registered property owners are on the NCDC radar and are being made to pay all municipal charges, including the Lands department lease rental. They pay the land tax, sanitation and garbage charges to help NCDC run its functions such as garbage collections.
NCDC has the duty to keep the city clean and they have these network of garbage collection schedules that includes the vast, fast-growing and uncontrolled settlements throughout the city.
Registered property owners pay the cost.
A large percentage of the city’s
population, public servants, lawyers, engineers, teachers, all the way down to the grassroots people live in the settlements and they are not paying anything to the Lands Department, NCDC – for garbage collection and sanitation – or Eda Ranu for the water.
Public servants and businessmen who live in the settlements have bought land there and built better houses and some have even acquired business leases.
To say that settlements do pay their bills to the city authority is misleading. In some cases, like for water, they pay as a group to Eda Ranu, but that is still not the same as what the registered property owners pay the city, Lands and
Eda Ranu. NCDC should find a way to make everyone pay the same for the services received.
Over to you NCDC.
Be fair on registered property owners.

Poi Papoo
POM