Inter-agency coalition sworn-in to clean up Milne Bay business environment

Milne Bay Economic Facilitation Committee after the swearing in ceremony *(Image: NBC News)*

A critical alliance of provincial administrators, municipal leaders, and national tax and labor watchdogs has been formalized in Alotau to restore order to Milne Bay's commercial sector.

Supported directly by the Provincial Executive Council [PEC], the newly sworn-in Provincial Economic Facilitation Committee [EFC] brings an abrupt end to years of fragmented business oversight that allowed unregulated investments to proliferate across the region unchecked.

The multi-year absence of this committee created a wide regulatory vacuum, effectively leaving an open door for outside interests to establish businesses within Milne Bay without rigorous screening or monitoring.

The broad makeup of the newly inaugurated team is an aggressive shift towards unified enforcement. Led by Alotau Town Mayor and PEC Chairman for Commerce and Tourism, Esmond Basinauro, the nine-member committee merges local knowledge with national enforcement muscle.

The body pulls in ex-officio heads from Provincial Lands, Commerce & Industry, Local Level Government [LLG] Affairs, and Law & Order, alongside the Alotau Urban Council, the Milne Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Internal Revenue Commission [IRC], and the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations.

EFC chairman Esmond Basinauro addressing his committee after the swearing in *(Image: NBC News)*

Acting Provincial Administrator Sharon Mua, who formally witnessed the milestone ceremony, voiced deep gratitude for the collaborative step.

"We have stayed away for such a long time and I am grateful that our PEC, with Chairman Esmond Basinauro, has taken that initiative and step to bring back this important committee in place again for the province," Mua said.

Originally established in the early 2000s and reinforced by the Economic Facilitation Committee Law 2017, the EFC's core mandate is to screen for genuine business ventures, hold corporations accountable to local laws, protect employees, and collect compliance penalties and levy fees to drive internal revenue.

Deputy Chairman and Principal Advisor for Commerce, Harry Sioni, said the immediate priority of the coalition will be active field deployments into rural districts and LLGs to cross-examine active investors.

"We have investors that have come into the province and are operating in the districts and LLGs, a lot of them," Sioni said. "We have not been going out to monitor their activities on whether they are abiding by their stated business scope or are doing something else, which is most times the case when left unchecked. This committee is for this exact purpose."

With the full backing of the provincial government, the newly established inter-agency coalition is now fully empowered to ensure that citizen welfare and statutory compliance remain at the heart of Milne Bay's economic landscape.