Caption: Vice Minister Johnson Tuke
Caption: Board members posing with their vice
minister.
By MATTHEW VARI
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 (Midweek Chronicle, PNG)
THE assurance was given to the
executive management of PNG Power Limited (PPL) during the swearing in ceremony
of the new look board by the Vice Minister for State Enterprises and Public
Investments, Johnson Tuke on Monday at the PPL head office in Port Moresby.
Speaking in the place of state
enterprise minister Ben Micah, who was on electoral duty- Vice Minister Tuke
reaffirmed that it was in the interest of all parties to allow the board and
executive management to function without state interference.
“I am advised the government will
allow the board to work independently and address the issues without any
interference,” Tuke said.
“Its (the government’s) duty has been
made by the appointment of the new board.”
“There are issues which will be
addressed by the executive management and the board.”
“And there are also issues which can
only be addressed by the government, and I urge all parties to respect that.”
In welcoming the incoming and
reappointed members of the board, he reiterated the commitment of the department
to carry out the ministerial review which he said was aimed at addressing the concerns
of PPL and the people.
“I congratulate the appointment of
the new board, and chairman- PNG Power has gone through a trying time,
especially in the past weeks where we made headlines in the media portraying a
negative image of PPL,” he said.
“But we have come out of this and
government has noted the concern of PPL and also the people.”
“A ministerial committee headed by
Minister Ben Micah is currently enquiring into the concerns of PPL for a long
term remedial action from the government.”
“On behalf of the Government I want
to sincerely thank all parties involved in this dispute for putting aside
differences and making sure that normalcy returns and that all concerns are
addressed amicably.”
He also made special mention to the
former acting chairman and now Deputy Chairman Robert Bradshaw for leading the
board throughout the impasse period.
In support of the Tuke’s remarks,
Chairman of the board Larry Andagali added that with the approach of sticking
to their responsibilities, would greatly improve the overall performance of the
entity.
“Moving forward, we would like to
make sure that there is clear separation of powers and responsibilities,
between the board of directors and the senior management,” the chairman said.
“The board will be responsible for
setting policies and directions and we will stick to our job and we would like
management to get on with managing the organisation on a day to day basis to
make sure that we turn this company around.”
A pleased Acting CEO Chris Baise
welcomed the assurance by the vice minister saying that non-interference would
enable them to fully utilize their effort in running the state owned
enterprise.
“It is also comforting to note the
assurance from the Ministry and the board to allow management to manage the
organisation the best way we can.”
“This is very comforting indeed, and
basically is most welcomed by the current EMT (executive management team).”
New members of the board include
Larry Andagali (Chairman), Ian Gapi (Director), and Stanley Gotaha (Director).
Reappointed members of the board
sworn in are Robert Bradshaw (Deputy Chairman) Sylvester Kenatsi (Director),
Finkewe Zurenuoc (Director), Thomas Laka (Director), and Peter Suar (Director).
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