Namah: K400mil lost in border trade

By ISAAC NICHOLAS
PNG is losing K400 million annually across the border to Indonesia without any returns to the national coffers, deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah said.
Namah is concerned about the amount of Kina crossing the border to be spent at the Batas market in Indonesia.
In the border township of Vanimo, cheap Indonesian cigarettes, radios, watches, clothes, foodstuff and other products are a common sight along the town markets and streets.
The trade at Batas market just one kilometer into Indonesia has attracted people from as far as East Sepik, Madang and even the Highlands provinces.
They make the trip to the border to buy quality but very cheap products then re-sell them at higher prices in their home districts.
Namah raised the concern in the presence of the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, ministers and MPs during a visit to Vanimo on Tuesday.
“There is no tax regime in place to charge tax on cigarettes, sugar, food items and other goods traded,” he said.
“The government must put in place border facilities including money exchange for the people to convert their kina on a daily exchange rate.”
He also alleged that foreigners holding currency exchange licences cheated small Papua New Guineans by not giving them the correct exchange rates.
Namah called on the national government to close the Batas market until the border facilities were completed.
Namah said K39 million had been allocated to Covec Construction to start work on the border facilities.
He said the government should construct a border corridor road along the border linking West Sepik and Western.
This would discourage the migration of PNG citizens into Indonesia.
“More than 12,000 Papua New Guineans have moved across the border because of easier access to basic services which are not provided by the PNG government,” he said.
“We must stop it. The Indonesians are luring our people.”
He also raised concerns about human and arms smuggling across the border and called for police presence in West Sepik to stop such illegal activities.