Parkop needs to look at alternatives to ban

 GOVERNOR Powes Parkop should look at both sides of a toea coin before making the decision to ban betel nuts. 

The ban is good.

We all oppose people chewing betel  nuts, throwing rubbish and spitting all over the place, making the city filthy and unhygienic.

But from my observations, I expect a rise in crime and poverty rates, and these problems will prove very costly for the government to minimise and eradicate.

The betel nuts ban is a short-sighted decision.

It has been made by people who have not considered the poor grassroots who survive in the city through informal sector businesses as a means of earning a living to support their families.

I wish Parkop could have come up with alternative ways to draw up a policy to keep the city clean and control the mindsets of people who turn the city into a rubbish dump, or close to it.

The ban has created a dilemma for the poor and the vulnerable people who are unable to find formal employment.

I suggest that the governor and NCDC be well- prepared to meet the challenges caused by the betel nuts ban.

Non-Betel Nuts Seller

Port Moresby