Start getting tough

I WRITE on the arrest of two very senior officers in PNG Customs, Deputy Commissioner for Customs (Enforcement) and Director for Investigation.
These two officers are in strategic position to protect our borders from illicit items like counterfeit goods, guns and ammunitions, human smuggling and most of all assist the State collect import and export taxes as revenue generation to develop the country.
This is a serious threat to our national security and economic growth of the nation.
The recent arrest of this senior officers clearly indicate that corruption is gaining roots and we’ll entrench in border agencies as there seems to be well organised syndicate operating in the system.
One of the major source of revenue in which the Government use to run the country is taxation and if senior officer are allowing corporate criminals to evade tax then this is a nation issue.
The worse part of it is that internal affairs or disciplinary process was not able to detect this malpractice until external investigators, police moved in and executed the arrest.
Earlier on two immigration officers were arrested by policing the police task force for involvement with Bangladesh visa rackets.
Corrupt immigration officers colluding with unscrupulous Bangladesh has now seeing Bangladesh nationals in almost all settlements and suburbs of NCD running trade stores or tucker box businesses.
All this indicate an existence of syndicate of corrupt officers, some of this officers may have links to outside sources and this a major impediments to the Government’s vision of taking back PNG.
How can we talk about taking back PNG when the very people who are supposed to protect PNG are corrupt themselves?
The Government must now start getting tough and sanction investigation into PNG Customs and Immigration.

Sani Andrew
Ragamuga, 6mile,
NCD