Parkop declares war on betel nut curse

IT is going to be a mammoth task for City Hall to rid the city of betel nut stains and the filth that comes with it.
That is the challenge that Nationa Capital District Governor Powes Parkop has set Port Moresby as he and his team prepare the city to host next year’s Apec summit.
Today, Port Moresby’s streets are again stained with the blood-red spittle that comes from the mouths of those who chew betel nut.
Discarded betel nut husks clog the city’s gutters.
Parkop has ruled out enforcing the betel nut ban he imposed on October 1, 2013.
Instead, the focus will be on the NCDC engaging a company to clean the city stains on a regular basis.
Many had criticised the ban, saying that some people make their living selling betel nuts.
Others argued that betel nut is part of our culture and should not be banned.
However, as the ban went into effect those years back many realised the city was cleaner.
“The betel nut sellers and chewers they sell anywhere, they’re hard to control and regulate and this is why we have to resort to this extreme measure (of cleaning the stains),” Parkop said.
The ban comes with many benefits for the city dwellers: it removes a hazard to both health and the environment, it promotes and encourages good behaviour and creates a new culture of cleanliness.
Betel nut chewing involves chewing the nut mixed with lime powder and mustard, before the chewer spits out the red stuff that results from the chemical reaction of the three products combined.
“I cannot continue to tolerate this kind of behaviour,” said Parkop after being sworn in as governor for a third term, but stopped short of re-enforcing the ban.
He says the ban will be a last resort.
Ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s about people changing habits.
Parkop is optimistic the clean-up exercise will make people see the bad side of spitting, and hopefully embarrass them into changing their habit.
The buai stain clean-up programme is part of his plans to transform Port Moresby over the next five years into a 21st century city.
That challenge is daunting and City Hall needs to be aggressive and focused to achieve Parkop’s plans to transform the city from what it is today to something better and modern.  And cleaner.
“We’ve got to do a quantum leap – not just for the city but for the rest of the nation.
“The rest of the nation needs a major inspiration,” Parkop said.
No one can disagree with the governor’s dream for a better city for its citizens, but that dream is only a dream until we the citizens can see real changes taking place. And if those changes include seeing the last of the betel nut stains on our surroundings then we will have gained.
Fail and the prospects of a modern 21st century city for Port Moresby will be just that – only a dream.