Prime Minister James Marape recently told parliament that before 2025, the government will implement a systematic control of urban areas and it will commence with Port Moresby first.
The PM stated that to control the living environment in Port Moresby and to reduce lawlessness in the nation’s capital, the government will ensure everyone has NID to travel to main urban centres.
“Those who want to come into Port Moresby must have NID to travel into Port Moresby and those who live in Port Moresby must have NID to live in Port Moresby,” stressed Marape.
Prime Minister Marape said the urbanisation minister and lands minister will be working towards converting settlements into proper suburbs in Port Moresby.
The conversion of settlements into proper suburbs is an attempt at discouraging the residency of one ethnic group in a specific area, which gives rise to regionalism and provincialism.
“Instead of Southern Highlanders living in one area, Helas living in one area, Keremas living in one area, Tolais living in one area, we will interface so that there’s a mix up and we have a true Papua New Guinean suburb emerging in urban area.”
Prime Minister further stated that the urban areas of PNG are not for people to bring their tribes into the city and live as tribesmen.
He said Port Moresby is the core political centre of Papua New Guinea hence they will do all they can to change it.
(Article by Albert Moses - third year UPNG Journalism student; Loop file picture of the Erima Flyover, a hotspot for petty crimes and tribal clashes)