Repeal the Economic Facilitation Committee Law 2017

The Milne Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCC) asks our Provincial Government to repeal the new EFC Law 2017 which is trying to kill business in our province. This law states that all EXISTING as well as new businesses, are about to be slugged with a new K1,500 fee to apply to register their businesses with this newly formed Committee, and then K5,000 to renew their registration every year if they are approved!
It appears that the Milne Bay Provincial government is completely out of touch with the people in this Province. Do they seriously think that any of the PMV owners, taxi drivers, work boat or dinghy operators can come up with K6,500 to stay in business this year? As for the foreign companies, many of them have been in MBP for many years, and contribute significantly to our local economy, also provide the majority of employment in our towns and they are being asked to pay K17,000 a year just to stay in our province. And what about local Milne Bayans who might be in partnership with someone who is a foreign national? They still also have to pay K8,500 a year?! The MBCC has started a petition to repeal this law and save our livelihoods.
The law seems to be designed to encourage existing and new businesses to take their money and their employment elsewhere to provinces which actually want them to spend money, and employ their people.
The Members of the Milne Bay Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the business community wish to express their vehement opposition to this Law.
We were not given access nor time to review the law prior to it being passed. We can see why, as this is a clearly a ploy to create a gravy train for the people who will be involved in this Committee, and who obviously have no regard or concern for the long term consequences of this sinister legislation.
This law will effectively put existing businesses in a position of ongoing vulnerability, by forcing them to re-apply to stay in business each year. The decision to allow them or not allow them will be made on the whim of a group of people who do not understand business, and have never put their livelihood on the line by investing their life savings in a business.
The Committee has given itself unlimited powers to reject businesses, with no oversight over their decisions.
We have also noticed that the Committee members are paid, they can create sub-committees of people who are also paid, and a employ as many people as they like who will be paid as much as the Committee decides. We also noticed that the funds of the Committee are to be used for the purpose of the Committee only (Item 4.2)! Nice work. This Committee is attempting to grab as much as 10.8 million Kina from the pockets of Milne Bay people by imposing ridiculous fees destined only to support the Committee which is administering the funds. In 2017 we very conservatively estimate that if all existing businesses pay the fees to apply to stay in business that the income of the committee from local PNG owned businesses alone would be K9.75M (1500 x K6,500), plus foreign companies, k680,000 (say 40 x K17,000) and local & foreign owned companies pay K340,000 (40 x K8,500).
The intent of the original Committee was to monitor businesses intending to come and settle in the Province so that some control could be exercised if necessary. The guidelines for this original Committee should be reinstated and the Committee should be comprised of government employees (who are not paid extra to do this work).
We strongly oppose this law and want it repealed immediately.