The sight of pigeons dashing across the sky or mooching along the walkways or the carpark, in those days free for shoppers to use unlike today where the space has been taken over by illicit activities such as gambling.

The pigeons in those days belonged to the city council, and the public was prohibited from touching or hurting them. As kids we were tempted to touch them but my parents discouraged me.

The environment inside the market was friendly with a market inspector on the lookout for litter bugs. Petty crime like pickpocketing was unheard of.

Unfortunately nowadays the market is infested with criminals and drunkards who have no regard for the rule of law. The police stage raids every now and then but the status quo remains.

I have been frequenting Gordons Market especially in the mornings as our bus pick-up zone is just opposite Gordons Police Station.

Every time I hurried towards the pick-up zone, I had to swerve and nudge my way through a sea of street vendors screaming at the top of their voices to convince me to buy their items.

Most of the vendors are youths who are good at preying on unsuspecting passer-by. The number of these vendors is increasing by the day, so much so I get a feeling that the government will have to come up with measures to prevent people migrating into cities from the villages.

Failure to do that may mean we could lose important civic infrastructure such as the Gordons Market to thugs and drunkards. The signs are already there and the situation does not look like easing anytime soon.

Most of these vendors don’t appear genuine, in fact they are opportunists. These are the very people whose inhumane behaviour has led to the police dishing out unfair treatment on innocent mothers and fathers who are trying their best to sell a few things to meet their family’s needs.

For the sake of our law abiding citizens trying to make an honest living, we have to regain control of Gordons Market and return it to its former glory.

To this end it is commendable to note that National Capital District Commission in partnership with UN Women is planning to modernise Gordons Market under the Safe Cities Market Program.

Even more encouraging are initiatives spearheaded by leaders like Justin Tkatchenko who recently renovated the old Koki and Sabama Markets.

Yet the issue of space is still a problem and vendors can be seen selling outside the market gates or peddling along the streets of Port Moresby. It is clear that the government will have to confront the challenging and sensitive issue of migration and urbanisation.

Already there have been suggestions that the government should enforce the Vagrancy Act. Others see the government’s National Identification Project as key to monitoring the movement of people.

People like me believe that formalising land tenure in settlements and creating a central property registry will address at least some problems of urbanisation, law and order and unemployment by converting property into assets that can be used to access loans or to build trade stores through the Stret Pasin Stoa scheme.

Whatever the approach the government decides to take, it has to make sure it addresses the uncontrolled flow of people from rural areas into the urban centres like Port Moresby.

Only then will we be able to regain public utilities that have been lost to the uncompromising nature of lawlessness that is plaguing public places like Gordons Market.