By GRACE AUKA

THE rise in the number of street vendors in Port Moresby is likely to continue despite a ban imposed by police, vendors said.
National Capital District and Central commander Assistant Commissioner Francis Tokura announced a ban on street vendors this week.

Concerned vendors in some suburbs of the city who regularly sell betel nuts, cigarettes, fruits, movies in compact discs or DVDs, mobile phones and other accessories yesterday questioned how they would make a living if the ban was enforced.
Janet James, a mother of seven, is a regular fruit seller who earns her living by selling apples and oranges between the Mobil service station and the Bank South Pacific Waigani branch.

“If they stop us from selling, how will they help us to earn our li­ving?” she said.

“Will the government or the relevant authorities meet our daily needs?
“Have they got alternative ways to help us?”

But she said she supported a ban on selling of betel nuts and cigarettes in public places and along roadsides as it contributed to the filthiness of the city.
Regular female betel nut sellers Helen Steven and Josephine Karapen, from Wabag, Enga pro­vince, sell from outside offices in Waigani, said space and competition were the main reasons they did not want to sell at the main markets.

“When we arrive at the market to sell, the regular sellers often complain and tells us to go elsewhere to do our sales,” she said.

“That often ends up in arguments. That is why the only option for us to make fast money is by selling in these areas.
“We clean up the place before and after selling.”

Heto Sumai and Raka Manus, from Chimbu province sells peanuts and store items such as phones, MP3 players and footwear in the streets of Port Moresby.

“Police must not generalise. All of us are not criminals who stand alongside the roads to commit crime,” Manus said.

“This is how some of us earn our living, and if there will be a total ban the crime rate will increase as most of the unfortunate tend to earn their living by street vending.”

Most street vendors raised similar concerns on the informal sector law, saying it had allowed them to continue their businesses while, at the same time, thanking NCD Governor Powes Parkop for reminding them to be responsible for their own rubbish.

via The National