State Enterprise Minister Ben Micah says he is not aware of PNG Power’s financial crisis.
Minister Micah told EMTV that he has not received anything formal from the PNG Power Board, or the Independent Public Business Corporation. Minister Micah said as far as he is concerned, there is nothing wrong with PNG Power.
On Monday, PNG Power Acting Board Chairman, Robert Bradshaw, confirmed that PNG Power was facing a financial crisis. However, today, minister responsible for public investments, Ben Micah, denied any knowledge of PPL’s financial woes.
Letters addressed to the minister from both the PPL board and the shareholder, IPBC, pleaded for urgent government attention. This series of letters were written last week, a day after the minister met the board, to settle the disagreement of John Tangit’s suspension.
The first letter from the Acting Chairman notified the minister of the financial crisis at PNG Power.
In the second letter from IPBC’s Managing Director to the minister, it stated that PPL did not have any money to pay its employees; therefore he gave authorization for an extension of the overdraft facility.
These were brushed aside by the minister today, while saying PNG Power is doing fine. Minister Micah was obviously furious over this information reaching the media.
The PPL board maintains that it needs urgent attention from the government to rescue the company.
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