Betel nut

It costs Lae city K10 million per year to clean up the streets because citizens carelessly discard their rubbish everywhere, and spit red betelnut wherever they please.

During today’s opening of the newly-upgraded Bart Philemon Drive, Morobe Governor, Luther Wenge, and Member for Lae and Deputy Prime Minister, John Rosso, spoke against the filthy habit of spoiling new infrastructure with betelnut spittle.

“Yupla ol lain nau, stop lo kaikai buai,” said Governor Wenge. “Husat kam spet lo hia? Yu longlong man yu spet lo rot.

He made the announcement today, when announcing NCDC’s plan forward during the extension of the SOE lockdown.

Seventy percent of the people living in the city depend on the informal sector for survival. The betel-nut business alone has helped a lot of families in the city and the Central and Gulf Provinces to put food on the table, pay for school fees and to provide for necessary needs.