Mums with bags stranded

 A GROUP of mothers from Kovio village in Gulf are stranded in Port Moresby after they could not sell the bags of betel nuts they had brought.

They were stopped by police and National Capital District authorities at the Laloki Bridge on Friday morning.  They said they were not aware of the betel nut ban in the city.

And they were depending on the income from their betel nuts sale to pay for their way back to the village.

Villager Mosi Pelis said they were not informed of the effective date of the ban on the betel nuts.

They only found out when they reached the proposed wholesale market at Ruburogo village.

“It was already dark and there was no trading taking place at the market,” Pelis said.

She said they waited for hours with the hope that the NCD authorities would pay for their buai.

“Police just got onto to the PMV and started throwing out our bags after removing the 11 bags of buai,” Pelis said. 

“We have babies and some are sick with us on the PMV.

“Can the governor of NCD allow for the markets to be fully completed before clamping on the total betel nut ban?”

Kovio village is located in the inland of the Lakekamu River. 

It cost K85 for a dingy ride to Kerema and a K25 for a PMV ride into the city.

Pelis said many in her village relied on buai for their income, because there is lack of government services to her village.

“The hours spent on travelling with our children has now live us with no fate,” Pelis said.

“Where else do we get the money to meet our travel expenses back home?”