Without clarity regarding the
role of provincial governments, towns and LLGs concerning markets and funding
support to build and sustain these facilities,markets throughout the country have
been greatly neglected by the government for many years. Subsequently, there
are only few properly equipped markets built to cater for the needs of both the
farmers/vendors and the consumers. In the absence of proper market facilities
vendors have resorted to road side markets, peddling, mobile trading and even
encroaching on state land for space which has led to regular confrontation
between the authorities and the vendors[1].
Nevertheless, the government has
recognized the importance of markets in its higher plans such as the Vision
2050[2].
It is also encouraging to note that every now and then we read and hear stories
about Members of Parliament spending money to build markets. Most recently, Hon
Justin Thatchenko and Powes Parkop have spent money on renovating markets in
the city. Gordons Market, which is the biggest market in Port Moresby, is
expected to undergo major repair to transform it into a modern market[3].
Other markets such as the Mt Hagen Market have been funded by the generous
support of the Australian Government through the Incentive Fund. Yet it is fair
to say that a lot of the markets have not been properly managed allowing for
petty crimes to thrive and rapid deterioration of its facilities. Furthermore,
harassment of various forms has been widely reported to have taken place within
the markets making most of the markets unsafe for women to sell their produce.
Initiatives like the Safe Cities Market Project of UNWOMEN and NCDC are
attempting to change the situation in major markets in the city yet these
markets will not maintain its good image for many years to come if appropriate
mechanisms are not set-up.
Market is a very important driver
of economic growth apart from the lucrative extractive industry that is often
accredited for producing record breaking economic growth rate for PNG although,
there is very little evidence to suggest that these windfall gains have trickle
down to the mass[4].
Infact, the emergence of large scale projects such as the PNG LNG have further
increased the divide between the “haves” and the “have nots” and led to
significant rise in the cost of living[5].
Markets if prioritized by the government and managed properly could provide
that avenue for these gains to be passed onto simple farmers and informal
economy (sector) vendors most of whom make up the bulk of the PNG’s population.Typically
a market of whatever shape or form provides an avenue for the formal and the
informal economy(sector) to interact. Thus building more markets will further
enhance the prospects of spreading the income/revenue generated from the large
resource project across a wider spectrum of the society and will assist in
evening out the huge income disparity gap between the rich and the poor. At the
same time markets provide the local authorities the opportunity to generate
additional income through imposing fees on the vendors for the use of the
facilities. Fees should not be necessarily confined to gate fees but can be
broaden to include the use of water and toilet facilities so long as they are
provided in the best way possible.
Market is a great platform to
linking the informal economy with the SME at the micro-enterprise level. Within
markets vendors can be identified and trained on specific areas of needs
whether it’s functional or financial literacy or understanding their basic rights
as vendors and protecting the interest of their clients. The UNWOMEN/NCDC Safe
Cities Market Project[6]in
Port Moresby has thus far proven that markets are an effective tool to assist in
registering and profiling vendors for the sake of organizing them into groups
to build a collective “voice” to address their concerns.
Politicians need to recognize the
important role of markets and make provisions in terms of funding in their
budget to build and routinely maintain markets (both primary and secondary) to
create income earning opportunities to as many people as possible within their
constituency. Such funding arrangement such as the DSIP should have a portion
of that money specifically allocated to building markets in all districts as was
stated in the previous 2011-2015 MTDP[7].
As highlighted above this should be complemented with the government empowering
an existing department or agency to be responsible for ensuring that markets
are built and routinely maintained throughout the 89 districts. Furthermore, it
does not hurt for the national government to explore the idea to introduce a
national body/entity to plan for and manage market facilities throughout the
country on behalf of the people of this country.Better still it could amend
relevant sections in the Organic Law on Provincial & Local Level Government
to clearly highlight that building and maintaining markets in the provinces,
districts and wards is the role responsibility of the respective sub-national
government.This could then be reflected and amplified in the revised Informal
Economy Development & Control Act. Whatever approach the government intends
to take on board one thing is clear; its challenge will essentially be one of
resource and commitment to this endeavour, something that the government has
been seriously lacking eversince.
Last published: Weekender, The National Newspaper: Friday, March 4, 2016
[1]EMTV (2015) ; “Calls Made To Crack Down On Street Vendors In Lae”; http://www.emtv.com.pg/article.aspx?slug=Calls-Made-To-Crack-Down-On-Street-Vendors-In-Lae&subcategory=Top-Stories
[3]EMTV (2015); “Gordons Market to be redeveloped”; http://www.emtv.com.pg/article.aspx?slug=Gordons-Market-To-Be-Redeveloped;
[4] Massey University (2014); “PNG’s paradox of plenty
outlined in UN report”; http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=B66733E8-CE19-295B-6262-30E52AF133FE
[7] The REDD Desk (2011); Papua New Guinean Medium Term
Development Plan 2011-2015; http://theredddesk.org/countries/plans/papua-new-guinea-medium-term-development-plan-2011-2015
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