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A 'C' For Good Effort in saying 'No More Tax Holidays' Mr Prime Minister

When I read the article titled "Govt Puts Stop to Tax Holidays" in todays Post Courier it made me think of my mission yesterday afternoon, to attend the National Haus Krai which is about end right about now (3pm).

I had some urgent shopping to do and since the Great Malaysian Resource Thieves super store is conveniently next door to the Sir John Guise stadium, I decided: do the groceries first, have a bite to eat, then walk over next door.  

I was sitting at The Food Court (where over-priced and tasteless food is sold in meager quantities) when I noticed this little area that was sectioned off. This 'area' had nice comfortable couches, a commercial hot water dispenser, cutlery, crockery - you know a private and comfortable hang out and eat area.Then I noticed that there were only Filipinos (I could hear the Tagalog going off loudly - wanted to yell out "TUMAHIK KA!") in RH uniforms, with RH i.d's displayed, with RH walkie-talkies. So I asked a security guard, two tellers and a cleaner who they were and why they were sitting in that special 'area'. Turns out that it's a 'staff area' and only 'staff' are allowed to sit there. Maybe my informants were wrong, maybe it was an area booked by someone for something that all these RH Filipino personnel were invited to...But my immediate reaction was how come there are no Papua Niuginean staff?

While I was pondering this the security guard taps me on the shoulder and says, "Em hap blong ol supervisor na ol bossman/meri nabaut,". This made me feel disgust! How can it be that an organization that: takes so much yet gives so little, destroys so much of PNGs environment, displaced so many of my fellow Papua Niugineans be allowed to operate so discriminatory towards the very citizens of this country?!

It seems to me that these exploiters think that we aren't qualified or equipped enough to be shop keepers or supermarket supervisors, which explains why I have never seen a Papua Niuginean supervisor come over and 'override' the system at the checkouts.

Which brings me to my point (from which I have greatly digressed, I'm sorry to say): Most nations in this day and age make sure that business and social circumstances are in FAVOR of their citizens, creating favorable environments for local entrepreneurs and in that way contributing to their economy.
 
It's about time that someone with the authority stick a finger in the air and feel the wind-of-unequal distribution of wealth in the air! The way that business is currently conducted in the country is absolutely in favor of everyone else BUT the average Papua Niuginean! The tax holiday issue is LOONG OVERDUE Mista Prime Minista and although it's great that you're beginning to do something about it - it would look and sound better if it was made official and some sort of legislation was put in place stopping the practice of giving tax holidays to foreign business that only contribute a tiny fraction of income to PNG's overall income. So far for all the tax holidays given to 'entice foreign investment' the economic situation hasn't significantly improved for the practice to be labeled as viable.
 
Good work Mista Prime Minista but you only get satisfactory for that - there is still gigantic room for improvement.
 
©Klaireh