IPBC to develop Port Moresby Private Hospital

Independent Public Business Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary Port Moresby Private Hospital Limited, has signed a long-term lease agreement with Pacific International Hospital Limited for the use and development of the Port Moresby Private Hospital.
The hospital was completed in 2000 at a cost of about US$12 million (about K25 million) with the expectation that it would operate at international standards. But it has never been commissioned and made operational.
Managing director of IPBC, Thomas Abe, who is also a director of PMPH, said: “Execution of this lease is an important step in the revitalisation of this site and the development of the hospital.
“IPBCs desire is to ensure that these assets are used for the purposes for which they were constructed.
“PMPH and IPBC are working with Pacific International Hospital to ensure that the refurbishment and commissioning of the hospital are undertaken to international standards, ensuring that Papua New Guineans will be able to access services and facilities that previously they would have travelled overseas for.”
When completed, the hospital will have at least 79 beds, four operating theatres, two birthing suites and seven intensive care beds.
The lease terms are those laid down by the previous IPBC management under the Somare Government.

National Petroleum Company restructured

 Minister for Public Enterprises, Sir Mekere Morauta, said today National Executive Council had approved a submission to restructure the National Petroleum Company of Papua New Guinea (formerly Kroton No.2) and rescind earlier decisions extending its the role and powers.
Sir Mekere said the decision removed the wasteful duplication of roles and functions that can be carried out by others.
“Independent Public Business Corporation’s job is to rehabilitate Public Enterprises and hold State assets in trust – that is what it was set up to do.
“It was never set up to own and manage a petroleum company, with all the inherent risks and expenses that go with that.
“I am not against NPCP as such – I am against it living in the IPBC household, and it is time for it to go.”
Sir Mekere said the decision also helps to eliminate the confusion in the oil and gas sector about who is responsible for a wide range of State activities in the sector.
“The primary role of NCPC, which is wholly owned by IPBC, will remain: that is as an asset holding company. It will continue as a shell company to hold and protect the State’s equity in the PNG LNG project.
“The NCPC technical team will be retained to do this, as a special division of IPBC.
“Employees involved in community affairs activities will be transferred to the Department of Petroleum and Energy.
“All other employees will be paid their full entitlements and made redundant.”
Sir Mekere said the cost of the restructure would be about K14 million. Annual savings, including from removing duplication, would be about K64 million.

IPBC accounts now publicly available

Managing director of Independent Public Business Corporation, Thomas Abe, announced today that the 2010 audited accounts of IPBC were now available for public scrutiny.
“I have instructed that the 2010 accounts and all future audited accounts be put on the IPBC web site for
downloading by anyone who might be interested,” he said.
“This is part of my program to make IPBC more transparent and accountable to the people of Papua New Guinea, who after all are our owners.”
The IPBC web site is at www.ipbc.gov.pg .

Bishops slam arms of government over row

A Catholic Bishops conference has expressed concern over the conflict between the executive and judicial arms of government, The National reports.
“Politics and governance exist for the benefit of the common good of the country and its people,” the bishops said in a statement.
“When politics and the exercise of political power are at the service of the common good, then it is an honourable profession.
“However, when it serves self-interest, then trust is eroded and we end up with individuals and small groups occupied with their own political survival at the expense of every other person.
“When public autho­rity fails to seek the common good, it abandons its proper purpose and delegitimises itself.
“Jesus refused the oppressive and despotic power shown by some rulers (Mk 10:42), but he did acknowledge that temporal power has its place (Mk 12:13-17).
“As Christians, we too object when political authority is abused and the common good is betrayed.
“We support the life of democracy and the rights and privileges found in our national Constitution.
“We affirm that an independent judiciary is critical to the rule of law, and the rule of law is critical for the establishment of an orderly safe and free country.
“The Constitution of PNG recognises and establishes three independent arms of government – the parliament, executive and the judiciary.
“Under this principle of the separation of powers the three arms of government are expected to respect each others’ independence and to co-exist in their duties and responsibilities for the common good of the people.
“We see now a situation where conflict among politicians has led to conflict between two arms of government.
“It is not what we want to see in this country.
“The recent decision by the National Executive Council to suspend the chief justice appears to us, and too many fair-minded people, to go against the independence of the judiciary.
“The court should be allowed to complete its business and establish the freedom of the truth.
“The country is already facing problems of corruption, poverty, unemployment, law and order, and many more.
“It is not a time for political instability and infighting.
“We appeal to our leaders to exercise power in a responsible way so as to restore trust in the leadership of our nation.
“We appeal to all involved in this dispute to place the peace and good of the nation above self-interest,” they said.

Court orders Tiensten to surrender passport

By SAMUEL RAITANO

MEMBER for Pomio Paul Tiensten was yesterday ordered to surrender his passport to the Waigani District Court Registry, The National reports.
The order came as he made his first appearance in court yesterday on charges of misappropriation, conspiracy and abuse of office.
District Court magistrate Cosmas Bidar told Tiensten his bail conditions were that he must surrender his passport and not to interfere with state witnesses in NCD or elsewhere.
The charges against Tiensten fall under section 92 of the Criminal Code Act.
Court documents say that in March at the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, Tiensten as the then national planning minister in the ousted Somare-Abal government, had applied to the use of others, a sum of K10 million.
The state money meant for Air Freight Subsidies in the 2011 budget was given to the airline company, Travel Air. It was alleged that at the same time, Tiensten conspired with Travel Air owner Eremas Wartoto and former secretary of the department, Ruby Zariga, to have the money paid to Travel Air.
It was alleged that Tiensten had directed Zariga to carry out the payment while he (Tiensten) knew well that the airline company was not operating at that time.
Tiensten is alleged to have had, as the minister, corruptly entertained a private business and had issued directions that seemingly abused powers of the public office.
Yesterday, the police prosecutions sought to impose three bail conditions.
However, the court permitted two conditions and they were to have the district court registry safe-keep Tiensten’s passport and to prevent him from interfering with state witness in NCD and elsewhere.
The condition sought to have Tiensten report to the court registry once a week was irrelevant.

New charges for Tiensten

By JACOB POK

MEMBER for Pomio Paul Tiensten has again been arrested and slapped with further charges of misappropriation of public funds from the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, The National reports.
This time, he faces three charges relating to a K3.4 million project funding which he allegedly diverted to his family company when he was the national planning minister.
Tiensten is out on another K5,000 bail imposed on him by the Committal Court yesterday, which now placed his bail at K10,000.The Pomio MP was charged with one count of misappropriation, one count of official corruption and one count of obtaining money by false pretences.
He was arrested and charged by members of the Task Force Sweep soon after he made his first appearance at the Waigani District Court yesterday for the earlier charges.
He was interviewed at the fraud office and later taken to the Boroko police station.
Police alleged that in 2009, Tiensten, while the minister for national planning and monitoring, used his position to cancel a cheque payable to a Mesu Investment Ltd and redirected the cheque to Tolpot Services Ltd, a company which he was both a shareholder and director of.
He allegedly diverted the money under the false assertion that Tolpot Services had been appointed by Mesu Ltd and Karalai Plantation as project manager of the approved rehabilitation of the Karalai Plantation in Pomio, East New Britain.
It was alleged that the cheque was deposited into the company account at the ANZ Bank in Kokopo, East New Britain.
It was alleged that Tiensten and his family benefited from the funds.
Chairman of Task Force Sweep Sam Koim said as a matter of law, Tiensten was innocent until proven otherwise by a court of law

IPBC gives K27 million to State

Managing director of Independent Public Business Corporation, Thomas Abe, today handed over a dividend payment of K27 million to the State.
The cheque, made out to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, was given to Treasury Secretary Simon Tosali.
Abe said when handing over the cheque that IPBC and the Public Enterprises it controlled need to operate in a commercially sustainable way and share their profits with the people through the annual budget, or by carrying out capital expenditure that would improve services for the public.
“This year IPBC received dividends from Bank South Pacific, Oil Search and New Britain Palm Oil, and we are in turn passing on as a dividend to the State the amount agreed to in this year’s Supplementary Budget.
“This payment is a signal that IPBC and the Public Enterprises it controls will be dealing in public funds in a responsible, accountable and transparent way.”
He also said the personal hand-over of the cheque symbolised a re-engagement by IPBC with important Government departments and other institutions.
Past experience showed that IPBC needs to have effective relationships with other arms of Government if it is to avoid costly errors.
“It also shows that we need to follow proper processes of our own when dealing with public funds,” Abe said.
“To ensure that this happens, IPBC is developing a three-year Corporate Plan to define its vision and values, and to lay down the framework for the processes it will follow.
“IPBC also conducted a planning workshop this morning to finalise its 2012 Annual Plan, which will go to NEC for approval.
“This is a requirement of the IPBC Act that has not been followed until now.
“Neither IPBC nor our Public Enterprises have been as transparent and accountable as we should have been, and the new Board and my management are determined to change that as quickly as possible.”