Tough road ahead for businesses

THE fall in business in Morobe province is making life tougher on a daily basis.
Coupled with unhealthy business environment and higher operation costs, it is hard to make a profit.
The two main areas of concern are the state of infrastructure and security, with bad roads conditions making it easy for criminals to hold up victims.
After four years struggling in Kabwum district, local public motor vehicle (PMV) operator Nemera Morap left the district with his two trucks because of worsening conditions of the road to Kabwum.
He bought a van for the Lae operation but it broke down due to the bad roads, and had to buy another van for his city taxi service and airport transfers “because the cost of repairing is almost the same as buying a new one”.
Like all service providers, he wanted the provincial and national governments to be serious in creating a friendly business environment which should see better road infrastructure, more employment opportunities and lesser crime rates.
“Many of us services providers are not seriously being assisted by the Government,” Mr Morap said.
His concern comes a week after Bulolo MP Sam Basil made a call for the Morobe provincial government to prioritise locals and exhaust all avenues to involved them in business, without denying outside and foreign participation, which was also supported by PNG Contractors Association.