Make our informal economy accountable

By Busa Jeremiah Wenogo

The chaotic scene yesterday afternoon in Port Moresby where buses were pulled off the road over an ethnic clash and public commuting back home on foot should be a wake-up call to NCDC and other relevant authorities to now seriously address the ethnic tensions in the city. Since this morning the bus stop at the infamous Gordon Market is closed while a massive clean-up campaign orchestrated by the Police has left the place totally deserted. It was almost like dejavu where the stabbing of a police officer last year saw a similar exercise carried out in the market. Once again the many poor mothers and fathers who resort to small informal economic activities in the market to sustain their livelihood were victimized as the Police closed up the market for an indefinite period. While no exact cause of the fiasco has been identified rumours has it that the problem started when a bus crew tried to rescue a woman who was being pursued by petty criminals.

The social media was once again swamped with frustrations and anger over the incident. Most users overwhelmingly called for harsher measures to be imposed to curb this problem like vagrancy. Yet at the end everyone of us have to be blamed for allowing the situation to escalate. NCDC while considerate of the interest of the informal economy vendors did not put effort into regulating the activities on a daily basis. This means putting trained inspectors on the ground. The police could only disperse the crowd often with the use of force to deter the conduct of illegal activities. On their part the informal market vendors showed a lack of willingness to cooperate with the authorities to address the ongoing law and order issues while the public could only watch as their freedom is usurped by willy nilly pick pocketers, drunkards and drug addicts.

Over the years measures have been taken to address these problems but they have been found to be wanting. Everytime the government reacts the magnitude of the problem increases by certain fold. At the heart of this “cat and mouse game” is an informal economy that is left to thrive without any form of control. The first step to finding a long lasting solution is to recognize and admit that the current strategy of “treating it as an enemy” is not working. Problems relating to an out of control informal economy will continue unabated so long as the city experiences continued influx of people. It is high time the government work with the informal economy as a “partner in development”. Certainly the National Informal Economy Policy 2011-2015 advocates the need for the government to recognize informal economy as a “grassroots enterprise” and a “legitimate” partner to the formal sector.

From the outset we all have to recognize and support the fact that informal economy contributes towards addressing some of our pressing development needs such as providing income to the unemployed and under-employed and affordable homes, mostly in settlements, to those plagued by the city’s ongoing housing crisis. Although it is blamed for littering and providing a safe haven for petty criminals to conduct their activities, this problem is allowed to flourish because of a lax in enforcement.        

    

In moving forward the government should now seriously consider supporting the review of the Informal Sector Development & Control Act 2004. The revised law will empower respective provincial and LLGs to control the conduct of informal economic activities within their respective jurisdictions. The act of controlling the informal economy is critical for revenue raising purposes as well as consumer protections. The gist of the law will be the need to build a robust and responsive well-trained inspectorate functions that is able to administer the law within its ambit; something that the review process has found to be lacking. Supporting the work of the inspectors should be a “voice” mechanism” in the form of an association representing the interest of the informal economy participants. This group should comprise of influential informal economy vendors whose role will be to facilitate dialogue between informal economy vendors and the relevant city authorities. This lot or group will also be responsible for ensuring that informal economy vendors conduct their activities within the confines of the law. They should also be called upon in the event disputes or conflicts arise within the premises of the informal economy. Such an approach would herald a new strategy; one that aims to embrace the informal economy as a partner in development. Most importantly; it will mean that the government is trying to make informal economy accountable something that at present is missing in the midst of this turmoil.