BUSINESS houses in Port Moresby have lost millions of kina in just one day due to pressures from the public on matters relating to tax increases andbpublic servants payroll system glitch.
The President of the Business Council of Papua New Guinea, Susil Nelson-Kongoi, appalled that the business houses in the Nation’s Capital were not protected on Wednesday 10th January 2024 and have lost properties in fires and huge damages through looting.
Nelson-Kongoi stated that PNG is already a difficult destination for investments and needs the private sector retailers to do business here.
“All businesses attacked today are PNG businesses which are home grown, employ Papua New Guineans and one person employed has a ripple effect of feedingten,” Nelson-Kongoi.
Owners of retail shops in NCD have expressed their concerns stating that the retailers feed and clothe, bear the burdens of the foreign exchange restrictions to keep things running.
“Companies such as City Pharmacy Limited, Brian Bell and others have kept afloat through lines of credit and supplier trust but have lost some supplier partners because of the country’s burden,” she said.
“All this looting will have consequences for the business sector”.
The private sector and businesses pay hefty fees and incur enormous costs to operate in the country.
Business Council President has called on the government to put security measures and tougher penalties in place to protect the retailers from the loss and damages caused by violence as seen yesterday.
Nelson Kongoi said: “The business affected yesterday will not only impact the owners, but every person employed and will also put a strain on the government’s revenue.”
