MEDIA RELEASE/- Via City Sivaria.
By BERNARD KIPIT | The Sunday Bulletin
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KIPIT REVIEWS BOROKO MARKET KIOSK OPERATOR LICENSE
City Manager, Mr Bernard Kipit responded to the social and main stream media reporting that foreigners have been setting up containerized store (Kiosk) at the Boroko Market.
An irate Kipit said: “I ordered cancellation of the trial permit to the Kiosk operator (Mobile Management Services) and removal of the container from the market premises forthwith.
City Manager, Kipit confirmed that he received a proposal from British American Tobacco (BAT) to model partial SME in few city markets to empower our fellow citizens.
On advice from my officers, I approved the proposal via a letter to BAT on 16 August 2019 by nominating the recommended local business to be partnered in this 3 months trial SME at Boroko, Waigani and Gerehu markets precinct; subject to the regulatory approvals.
After the media escalation that non-citizens are installing the kiosk, Kipit says I realized that the local business that obtained trial permit from NCDC may have sub-leased to the non-citizens.
Kipit added that I have ordered a thorough investigation into how a license issued to a local business being got involved by non-citizens and how they were allowed to take up space inside the market, while they were supposed to be operating from the car park outside.
Kipit said that I cancelled the trial permit forthwith after finding that the local business breached the essence of the SME concept by involving non-citizens, non-compliance to regulatory approval from Planning and Building Boards and installing the Kiosk inside the market rather than the designated place in the carpark.
City Manager gave a strong warning to any foreigners who intended to deal with local businesses on activities exclusively designated for SME or earmarked for locals, either through sub-lease, partnership or on-sale arrangements etc and risk losing all their investments like this one.
Kipit added that “I will not take the space of a mother who is selling her produce in a market and give away that space to SME or any such containerized operation”.
Kipit said: “I was so embarrassed that my intention to trial and empower local businesses to be entrepreneur through a simple SME was hijacked this way.
He said “I will use this experience as lessons learnt and add more criteria into the screening process to identify the core SME oriented Papua New Guinean; so that we eventually take the vendors off the streets one day.
Authorized for Release:
BERNARD KIPIT, City Manager
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