More revenue lost at border

By GYNNIE KERO
REVENUE collected at the PNG Indonesian border is significantly less than the amount foregone through smuggling activities along the unmonitored areas of the border every year.
This is according to the Border Development Authority (BDA) chief executive officer Fred Konga when giving an update on the Wutung Border Post in West Sepik.
He said the K95 million Wutung Border facility had been completed and inauguration date would be announced once confirmed by Governments from both Indonesia and PNG.
Frequent border crossing was one of the reasons for the establishment of the Wutung facility.
Konga said once the facility was opened, the border agencies would have accurate statistics on volume of goods coming into the country from across the PNG border.
“I can confirm that at the moment we are losing a lot of revenue,” he said.
“At Wutung when our Defence Force supervises the gate, Customs PNG make up to K800, 000 in revenue in a month.
“National Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Authority also made couple of hundreds of thousands of kina a month.
“Without supervision at present, the agencies are collecting K100,000 a month.
“This is an estimate so you can see, that’s a huge loss.”
Konga said he attended a meeting in Indonesia and learnt that about K9 million went out of the country through the border every month.
“We are losing about 90 per cent of revenue that we are supposed to collect.
“The Wutung facility is state of the art.
“People and everything that goes through the facility will be scanned. It’s a huge facility,” he said.
Konga said 32 houses had been built to house staff for all border management agencies like NAQIA, Customs, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Police, BDA, Labour and Employment however that is not enough.
“The rippling effect of this facility is going to grow a little trade center.”