Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has reiterated the need for major interventions by the government to save struggling State utilities companies PNG Power, Air Niugini and Water PNG, as he witnessed his Treasurer present a K200 million funding to Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH) recently.
After a four-hour long meeting during which the Prime Minister was provided a full status report on the three State-owned enterprises, PM Marape said it was overdue that major efforts be put into these SOEs to help them equalise the community service obligation roles they have been playing with profit-making.
“State-owned enterprises have been carrying these community service obligations while operating under run-down infrastructure for too long,” said PM Marape.
“In our stocktake in the last four years since taking office, we have recognised that all we have been doing over the years has been putting on cosmetic dressing.
“But we need major by-passes, the way a surgeon carries out a by-pass on the heart. We need to keep these SOEs from sinking so we can be able to turn the efficiency of their businesses around.
“At the end of the Medium Term Development Plan IV, these SOEs must become fully self-sufficient and contributing to the economy in a much bigger way.
“And so the Government is privileged to give this K200 million.”
The Prime Minister said interventions for these utilities SOEs will be done utilising government policies such as the Public-Private Partnership to bring development partners on board.
The meeting today highlighted that, for Air Niugini, the main challenge facing the airline is an aging aircraft fleet that has been causing flight disruptions and impacting revenue. For PNG Power, it is the loss in revenue including from huge debts the company is owed; and for Water PNG, funding constraints have been named as its biggest challenge.
Recommendations were made for the securing of a couple of aircraft to start a new fleet, something that is looking achievable even at this point.
At the meeting with the Prime Minister was Treasurer Hon. Ian Ling-Stuckey; Minister for SOE Hon. William Duma; and directors and management of KCH.
Minister Duma thanked the Government for the funding and commended Prime Minister Marape for his “never-ending support of KCH since 2019”, specifically highlighting that it was PM Marape and his government who supported amendments to the enabling KCH legislation to enable some of the rehabilitative work that have since gone into the struggling SOEs.
