Page 18 - IB February 2024

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investigation into the incidents. At the end of the emergency has developed over 10 years across PNG.
period on January 25, Prime Minister Marape announced the “[The farmers] supply us with fresh garden produce,
demotion of Treasurer Ian Ling Stuckey, and the suspension of coconut oil, honey, jam and so on. This time of the year,
key police and finance ministry figures. The investigation also parents are looking for money to pay for their children’s
led to the arrest of PNG Police Union President, Lowa Tambua. school fees. The affected staff and the farmers need money
for their children’s school fees. We get honey and jam from
Goroka, coconut oil from East Sepik, woven baskets from
Bougainville. Now, we will cut all the farmers’ orders in half.
We have 500 affected staff. We are keeping them on the
“The darkest day of our lives.”
payroll. But sooner or later, we will have to make a decision
- City Pharmacy Ltd (CPL) Chairman, Sir on them. These looters just stabbed them in the heart.
Mahesh Patel
“Some of the staff have been with CPL since the early days
and we have three generations now working with us. And they
really wept and wailed over the destruction of our shops. It
was like attending a funeral. This is the darkest day in our
lives.”
He was charged with inciting the riot. The loss of CPL’s community health services is another
A Commission of Inquiry has been set up to investigate major blow to the people.
the breakdown of police command and the breakdown of “We deal with 20,000 patients per month. They come to our
communication between the government agencies that clinics and pharmacies. Now, they will be putting pressure on
led to the payroll glitch. Internal Revenue Commissioner, the public health services. We had set up our first baby clinic
General Sam Koim said in a press statement “it was a system in Rainbow. It’s gone to the dust now; it took us 18 months to
configuration issue and nothing to do with tax increase.” develop that project as part of the CPL Foundation.”
He continued: “Apart from the removal of dependents’ Another victim was businesswoman Behori Joku, who had
rebates, which is yet to come into effect, the government has set up a shop in her customary land in her village. Her store
not raised any tax rates in Personal Income Tax and Goods and was looted and gutted.
Services Taxes that would affect the average people and the “This is a loss of everything that we have worked for,” she
working class in Papua New Guinea.” told the media.
The Commission of Inquiry will be headed by a National “I tried to be an example to the local people, landowners
Court Judge, who will also work with the Department of of Port Moresby who are the Motu Koitabuans and other
Justice and the Attorney General on legislation to call out the indigenous people in the city. I was proud of owning this shop
military on the streets to protect public lives and property and now it’s all gone and I really don’t know how to rebuild.”
if policemen ever go on strike again like they did on Black
Wednesday. Tinder box
In addition, the Department of Information, Communication Senior PNG economist, Institute of Public Affairs Director,
and Technology was tasked with monitoring social media for Paul Barker says while the disaster can be attributed to
hate speech, elements that instigate violence, fake news, and the breakdown of communications over the tax issue
pornography. between central government agencies, as well as the lack of
communication between the police force and these central
Social cost agencies to determine the cause of the tax hiccup, “this
Fijian-born businessman and City Pharmacy Ltd (CPL) occurred at the time when [the] vote of no confidence was
Chairman, Sir Mahesh Patel, who has lived in, and has done looming, giving [rise to the] thought that [Black Wednesday]
business mainly in Port Moresby for 40 years, told local media was politically motivated.”
that Black Wednesday was more damaging than previous Barker says the police alone cannot be blamed for what
rounds of looting and rioting he has witnessed in Port Moresby happened, because the withdrawal of their presence was
since arriving in PNG in 1984. simply a catalyst.
“I witnessed the Okuk rioting (1986), Sandline crisis rioting “It was a tinder box. Things were ready to explode and you
(1997) and the Bill Skate rioting (2006). But this [Black just needed an opportunity to ignite it.”
Wednesday] rioting was worse and this small bunch of idiots Barker and other experts are of the view that the tax issue
[looters/arsonists] destroyed it. They put PNG in world was simply a trigger to the socio-economic malaise that grips
headlines in the wrong way. Here we are into 50 years of PNG.
independence and the looters have taken us back 10 years. I “With a high rate of unemployment, high school-leavers,
hope and pray that such rioting will not happen again in the struggling forex issues leading to scaling down of business
future,” said Sir Mahesh. and laying off [of] employees, huge urban migration, lack of
Sir Mahesh said that while the cost to business was over job creation, limited placing at tertiary institutions and high
K100 million (US$27 million), the major impact will be on the schools, it just needed a spark,” says Barker.
staff and the network of 1000 small-scale farmers that CPL “And the computer glitch was the spark”.

18 Islands Business, February 2024