BY TONY SII
Some informal vendors are set to defy National Capital District Commission’s plans to remove people who cook or sell food, betelnut and other goods in public places like bus stops and traffic lights in Port Moresby.
In a public notice published in the print media yesterday, City Hall had stated that 14 days after the publication, its enforcement agencies would not hesitate to physically remove roadside cooks and vendors.
It said that the notice was in line with Public Health Regulation and Informal Sector Development and Control Act.
City Hall said the move was to address litter, petty crimes and other related issues that pose health and safety risks but to some vendors that action would only restrict their means of making a living in the city.
One such person is Jopet Lepen, who sells assorted food items from betelnut to biscuits and soft drinks at the bus-stops along Sir John Guise Drive at Waigani. She says her husband is unemployed and the money she earns helps put food on the table and meet other needs like her children’s lunch money and bus fares
She says NCDC enforcement unit was on an awareness drive yesterday and had informed her of the move yesterday and encouraged her to move to a proper market. But she says it is not easy getting a spot in the main market when newcomers like her are not welcomed by regular vendors there.
“Mi bai no nap lusim this hap. Mi bai still maket yet. Ol kam ronim me, mi ba kam bek gen,” she said. (I won’t leave this spot. Enforcement unit can remove me but I will return and vend here.”
She said what the commission should do is run food handling trainings for them, license them and provide cottage or kiosks for them to operate from.
These views were shared by Angie Piriri and Rose Kawaing who sell cooked food near the National Library and Archives at Waigani and create convince for the workers there.
They said while they agree on the commissions’ concerns on betel nut, an exception should be made on food products.