Betel Nut Is Not the Only Stain Littering Towns and Cities in PNG

In responding to views regarding my posts about betel nut ban in the city, I would like to point out clearly that I don’t like living in a city littered with betel nut stains nor walk around in an unsafe street with betel sellers where opportunities conduct business together. I agree with everyone’s view that PNG is overdue for change and it’s about time the leadership delivers that change. 

To clarify a few points, to me it seems that betelnut is not the only stain that litters our cities and towns. The leadership in this country is also a big cause of concern as they are littering the country more than anyone else by letting the theft and disappearance of billions of development funds every year under their watch. They are building cities and towns which are also littered with rubbish, substandard buildings; pothole filled roads, overcrowded traffic with no overhead bridges and traffic crossings for people, poor drainage systems, poor pavements and foot walks, settlements, dogs, etc. If the leaders are serious about the cleanliness of the cities and towns, they must have further plans to develop towns and cities into modern cities and towns. Banning betel nut and punishing the people whom are already punished out there thinking that it will make cities and towns clean, is not supposed to be the first approach. 

I agree with everyone’s view that people’s attitude is a big problem in the country. Even no one cares anymore about taking another person’s life let alone the betelnut stains and health concerns. But my concern is the approach the leadership is taking to address the chronic attitude problem. Providing temporarily rubbish drums and building temporarily makeshifts at bus stops thinking it will withstand the attitude problem of the people is deplorable, especially in this twenty-first century and it goes a long way to reflect the standard of leadership we have in the country. The attitude problem of people removing rubbish drums and bus stop makeshifts can be solved with engineering. Just simply engineered and design litter bins and makeshift bus stops that cannot be removed or kicked around by people. We are not going to need a rocket scientist to do this as we have enough of engineers who can be able to do this. On the littering side of things, just simply enforce strong laws with sever fines and make people responsible for their actions. Human beings are intelligent creatures and they adopt to change when it is required. 

It is not a good idea of blaming a certain ethnic group of people for all the problems in the country as everyone has a downside. As a country with a diverse culture and some more than eight hundred languages, we have to encourage and help each other to build a better society and to live in it side by side peacefully regardless of our cultural differences and ethnic groups. Regionalism is certainly a way back ideology as there are no basics for it to be existed in our country. We are one people and one nation. 

Certainly, we are not at war with the betel nut ban but we are at war with the leadership of the country for not leading the country to change the country but leading the country to exploit the country. What is the use of having a government that doesn’t stop the theft of billions of Kina under their watch while people are still struggling out there to survive? 

Lucas Kiap

PNG Anti-Corruption Movement for Change (PNGACMC)

Expose the Truth about Corruption in PNG