This year most challenging: Patel

Reports by Mark Haihuie
CITY Pharmacy Limited Group chairman Mahesh Patel says the year has been the toughest for business in his 30 years of experience.
He specifically pointed out the retail sector which has been facing a slump.
“This year has been absolutely tough. I have been spent 33 years in business and 30 in PNG. This has to be the most challenging year so far,” Patel said.
“There has been a huge downturn in the economy and the commodity prices and the macro economics of it all which neither we nor the Government have control over. There have been not many jobs created. Elections have been a slowdown which is unusual.
“I have witnessed a number of elections in the country and this election has been very quiet.
“The whole economy has been suppressed so it has been tough.”
He told The National that by the time a new Government was formed, “we have almost lost the year”.
“So for 2017, we don’t expect any uplift at all. Right now, it is cut your costs, improve the efficiency levels and see how we can improve our operations,” he said.
Patel said redundancy of staff was not an option.
“When people say to cut costs, they say let’s sack some staff. But we have not done that and we have no intention of doing that,” he said.
“Our people are the force behind us. We have close to 3000 staff and they are our backbone.”