The Enga Provincial Government will be imposing a total ban on the sale of betelnut in the province.
Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas made this known during a COVID-19 meeting with the provincial management team on Wednesday, April 8th.
In a statement, the provincial office said the move was fully endorsed by senior public servants, medical practitioners, churches, security forces, heads of national functions and leaders of the community who attended the meeting.
Dr Betty Koka, director of primary health care with the provincial health authority, said buai has contributed to health issues and pollution hence it needs to go.
Governor Sir Peter concurred, adding there are better ways of making a living than selling “something that was killing our people”.
He said his government would introduce a scheme to encourage people to take up agriculture and livestock as a means of earning a living.
Sir Peter added, he had discussions with the National Development Bank to organise a loan facility to assist people, mainly at the grassroots level, to borrow up to K5,000 to engage in farming.
He stated that if the global trend of COVID-19 continues to create serious consequences, including widespread food shortage, there was a real need to engage people in farming to sustain their living.
“They can also sell the surplus for income,” he added.
Sir Peter added that the public servants in the province are expected to take the lead in this process with whatever government resources they have.
He also urged police to discourage the erection of illegal structures (buildings) on state land in Wabag town.
The five Open MPs from the province are expected to attend an important meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) to endorse important agendas, including the introduction of a curfew in the province to complement the SOE order.
“It’s all for the good of our people and we want everyone to work together to overcome challenges that are before us,” Sir Peter said.