By Meriba Tulo – EMTV News, Port Moresby
The Opposition has raised concerns over claims that a State Minister has been directly interfering with the affairs of the National Airline.
Shadow Attorney General, Kerenga Kua, in a series of questions in Parliament this morning, asked the Prime Minister whether he was aware of the perceived influence of State Investment Minister William Duma, in the affairs of Air Niugini.
In a series of questions in today’s parliament session, former Attorney General, Kerenga Kua, raised concerns over the perceived manner in which they claim the State Investment Minister had directly involved himself with the running of national airline, Air Niugini.
According to the Opposition, the involvement of Minister Duma had created a perception of undue political influence at the State-Owned-Entity.
In responding, Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, provided a brief outline of the changes that Air Niugini had gone through in recent months, including changes at the board level, which he said were facilitated by Kumul Consolidated Holdings, as the shareholder of Air Niugini – but stopped short of admitting undue influence from the Minister concerned.
However, given the seriousness of the questions, the Prime Minister assured parliament that State Minister, William Duma, would provide a detailed response tomorrow on the floor of parliament.
