Check ‘cards’ for casino situation
WE applaud the diligence of police in seizing work permits and entry documents of 54 people who were found on the premises of a city nightclub early on Sunday morning.
When so many foreigners are found in such circumstances with so much money on a table, it is the duty of the police to take such a precautionary measure.
The rights and wrongs of the raid will be debated if and when any charges are laid. The people whose documents were seized were later released, pending further investigations.
However, we urge police to collaborate with the Foreign Affairs and Labour and Employment departments to follow through on the authenticity of the seized documents.
We also urge them to extend such a search to the involvement of foreigners in various areas of business that appear to be denying the chances of Papua New Guineans.
An alarming rate of infiltration of small to medium sized business has taken place in the past few years. Many of the people fronting such infiltration appear to have little or no English or Pidgin or, for that matter, Motu language skills. Many also appear to have antiquated ways of dealing with their Papua New Guinean employees.
Many appear to be performing duties that can be performed by our citizens. Whatever happened to the concepts so central to the Government’s programs of development, of ensuring that Papua New Guineans get the chance to hold down basic jobs and run businesses.
In the year of celebrating three decades of independence, are we to be exposed in the eyes of the world as having abandoned these concepts, of having given in to greed and corruptive methods to allow an influx of foreigners to do things that should be done by Papua New Guineans?
And how many Papua New Guineans are involved in these corrupt practices, collaborating with people who should not be in the country.
2005-07-12
