Syndicate stealing jobs from Papua New Guineans

Oro Governor Garry Juffa revealed at the floor of Parliament today that there is a syndicate operating within the Labour department which is allowing foreigners of Bangladesh origin to enter the country and do all kinds of businesses.

Governor Juffa asked the Minister for Labour whether he was aware of the syndicate that was operating with support of alleged corrupt officers within the Labour department. Juffa said the foreigners also cannot communicate very well in English which brings much doubt on how they entered the country and obtain work permits. "Is English not one of a vital requirement before work permits are issued to foreigners to do businesses in the country?

"Does the Labour department carry out regular inspections? Is there any investigative measures and prosecution capacity within the department?" Governor Juffa said when directing the questions to the Labour Minister. In response, Labour Minister Benjamin Poponawa said he was not aware of any syndicate in the department and advised Governor Juffa to provide the names of the officers involved in the syndicate so that he would deal with them.

"English is a requirement and a prerequisite for whoever foreigners that apply for work permit before work permits are issued." "I don't know how these foreigners were able to obtain work permits," Mr Poponawa said. The Minister said corruption was rife in every government departments and Department of Labour was no exception. He said he would look into fixing such discrepancies within his department. Post Courier/ ONE PNG