The Public Accounts Committee was not satisflied with a lengthy report provided bythe Telikom Executives led by Chief Executive Officer Charles Litau.
The report didn’trsquo;t clearly justify why Telikom was charging hefty rental fees for the use of VSAT Systems in PNG
“You are charging 1, 200 kina rental on equipment that you do not own,” said Hickey in an angry tone.
Telikom CEO Litau on several occasions attempted to respond tothe series of questions but was interrupted on various occasion bythe PAC who were still not satisflied withthe responses.
The Public Accounts Committee also heard that Telikom’s HF Communication Tower at Boera village was non – operational due to landowner issues and on-going court battles. This has deprived people in rural outstations from communicating vital information.
HF Communication Tower was relocated from Five Mile OTC Oval to Boera village. Nothern Governor Gary Juffa questioned why Boera village.
“That’s a very poor decision,” said Juffa.
“When decisions are made by an executive,they would analysethe risks to that decision.
“And, one ofthe risks for relocating to Boera would be &lsquoLandowner problems’. To avoid that you would have relocated to state land”.
TelikoPNG’s response was that Boera was chosen because it was isolatedthen. However, since Boera village at Portion 152 now hostthPNG LNG Plant site, this will be reconsidered.
The Public Accounts Committee will be issuing directives immediately to Telikom Executives to furnish up anther report onthe hefty VSAT rentals andthe update of HFInterconnection, communication towers and systems that are vital for Papua New Guineas in rural areas.
Pictured: Telikom Chief Executive Officer Charles Litau atthe PAC hearing.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=URFo0GlUFko%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque%26showinfo%3D0%26showsearch%3D0%26rel%3D0
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