Betelnut needs a policy urgently before any further policing takes place By Busa Jeremiah Wenogo Last week it was reported in the two dailies of an incident that involved the betelnut city rangers dressed in police uniforms and a betelnut vendor. A quick glance at the story and its accompanying picture may not have stirred up much interest and curiosity given that news of murder and violence has always hit the front page of every newspaper in PNG. However, a careful read of the story paints a horrifying picture of a life lost as a result of blatant disregard for basic human rights by the city authority.It was reported that the vendor, a grandmother from Goilala, was ran over by an oncoming vehicle as she was attempting to cross over to the other side of the road in a bid to avoid the clutches of the rangers. News of her death brought an avalanche of criticism from the public on the streets, in the newsroom and on social networking sites such as facebook. The general sentiment was that the betelnut ban has gone wayward and that the city commission needed to urgently relook its betelnut ban policy. The death of this particular vendor is not the first. As reported in the newspapers before this incident there were already other deaths relating to the commission’s decision to clamp down on the sale of betelnut in the city. The irony of the situation above is that even those who have applied for and have been given permits or licenses to trade have fallen victim to the city commission’s crusade to clean up the image of the city. It seems as though the commission is shaking the vendors’ hand with its right hand and taking their rights with its left hand. If this continues it looks certain that the commission’s endeavor to clean up the city will become an insurmountable task. While the Governor of NCDC promised to probe into the incident it will be interesting to see if the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary will want to continue on its partnership with NCDC. The recent stance by the top brass of the force to rid the force of ill-disciplined officers to clean up the force’s image may force them to reconsider their partnership with NCDC. Already there is ample evidence for it to seriously reconsider. One classic example is the incident described above where public outcry has been foremost directed at the Police Force given that it was reported that a police vehicle carrying men in police uniforms where responsible for the death of the unfortunate vendor. Unfortunately, for the force the public has labeled this act as yet another case of “police brutality” although the officers that were involved were actually NCDC’s reserve police who are part of the betelnut control unit. Furthermore, police have been blamed for aiding betelnut vendors by smuggling bags of betelnut across the Laloki check point eventhough the betelnut ban was in full force. Once again whether it was the reserve police or not the public squarely blames the police for this situation. Aside from the incident described above there is growing evidence of city rangers being easily agitated when carrying out their duties in and around the city. Most often commuters or public are being unnecessarily questioned and often harassed whenever they suspect the presence of the green addictive in their bags, bilums or pockets. There have even been incidents where public who chew betelnut but carefully disposed their rubbish have been held up and asked to pay up a certain amount of money as fine. Ever since the engagement of city rangers to tackle the betelnut problem in the city there have been concerns raised about their level of understanding of basic laws and rights governing their work and the general public’s welfare. It was argued by some that city rangers should be trained in a manner that they carry out their function without committing unnecessary fallacy that deprives the public of their rights. Laws should be clear for all and should be enforced accordingly and not otherwise. Whenever chewing in public places there are restrictions that are in place that both the consumers and the enforcer should know. Failure to comply means that the culprit deserves a fine or charge. However, it does not make sense when a person carries betelnuts in his or her bag without chewing and spitting and yet he or she is being manhandled or spot fined. This just goes to show that the rangers who are engaged have not been properly trained to an extent where they are able to carry out their job in a professional manner having knowledge of the processes and different charges that are laid for various kinds of offences. Above all their work should be primarily guided by certain logic or knowledge of basic human rights. They should be able to discern when it is necessary and when it is not to enforce the law. The situation with regard to the betelnut ban being imposed by the commission clearly indicates the need for the government to come up with a policy on betelnut. The buai ban has been criticized for not addressing the problem through a win-win approach. In addition, huge sums of money have been pumped into sustaining the enforcement of the betelnut ban and yet betelnut is now everywhere in the city. The loss of lives will further consolidate the public’s views about the law being a draconian law and will amplify the call to replace it with regulation. The problem of betelnut should not be confined to NCDC alone but should become one of the national government’s priority agenda given it is widely consumed and affects the livelihoods of the majority of its population. Its high weightings in the Consumer Price Index indicate how far reaching the betelnut consumption is in PNG. Any changes in its prices will have a significant impact on the purchasing powers of its suppliers and consumers. It is without the doubt one of PNG’s most successful commodity that is able to generate millions of kina domestically. It also has great potential if it is exported. Perhaps having the law before the policy is not the solution to the problem. It is definitely a case of putting the cart before the horse. Although the commission has to be commended for taking this hardline approach to change the filthy and damp image of Port Moresby, it is clear that this law may not be sustainable in the medium to long term.Especially when it has already claimed lives of people and is responsible for abuses and harassment of the public. Subsequently it may not be the answer to effectively address issues relating to betelnut trade. That is why the government needs to urgently look into the possibility of developing a policy specifically to address problems relating to betelnut consumption and sales. At the crux of this exercise to develop the policy the government through NCDC should be willing to sit down with the affected parties through public forum and consultation as well as undertaking research to map out a wayforward to address the betelnut problem in NCD and PNG as a whole. The law on banning the sale of betelnut can then be reviewed to align with the policy so that the policing of betelnut is implemented in a sensible manner. Authors information: The Author is an Economist & a Senior Project Officer with the Consultative Implementation & Monitoring Council specilising on informal economy issues in PNG
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 23:58:35 +0000