TELIKOM is cutting costs and trimming its operations but has no plans to sell it, a top official says.
Independent Public Business Corporation managing director Wasantha Kumarasiri said the government had no plans to sell Telikom as claimed by the PNG Communication Workers Union yesterday. The union claimed that the Telikom board and its management were scheming to deplete the communication company’s value and eventually sell it. Kumarasiri said he was not aware of any scheme to sell Telikom. He said the company was only undergoing reforms to deliver efficient and cost effective service to the public and businesses. Telikom board chairman Mahesh Patel also said: “We (Telikom) are in the process of building up from a very tired organisation – not killing it”. Union general secretary Emmanuel Kairu said the Telikom board and the executive management had been collaborating to “kill” the organisation by scheming to deplete its value and eventually putting it up for sale. Kairu said the union had documents pertaining to the valuation and re-zoning of Telikom’s properties at its 4-Mile depot and the surrounding areas in Port Moresby. He claimed that the Lae Telikom Training College and the Telikom depot next to Lae market were included in the deal. Kairu further claimed that certain functions of Telikom had also been outsourced rendering staff useless in office and vulnerable to early retirement. “If the undercurrents are going the way we forecast, then we fear that the worse will be the truth,” he said. But Kumarasiri said: “All state-owned enterprises have been asked by the State through its shareholder IPBC to focus on controlling costs and eliminate waste to lower the cost of goods and services to the public. “The IPBC Act contains certain provisions to guard investments and divestments including disposal of land and properties from dubious transactions. “IPBC also now have a process of regular review of performance and actions by the SOEs on major transactions. “PNG has embarked on reforms to the telecommunication industry to allow the efficient use of assets and related investments and promote completion in order to allow best price and service to the public. “In line with the NEC directive 2011, IPBC is implementing these reforms and it will require vesting some of the historical assets to Telikom to a new entity called DataCo. DataCo is a 100% state-owned. “There have been sufficient media releases on DataCo (which) will act as a wholesale service provider while retail service entities compete and provide service to the public. “This reform also will allow opportunity for new entrants to the market dictated by market forces. “IPBC is aggressively working towards completing DataCo commercialisation.” The union with members in Telikom, Post PNG, NBC and NICTA will meet today to prepare an information paper for stakeholders including Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. THE COUNTRY’S biggest cinema will be part of a K20 million supermarket complex owned by the City Pharmacy Group (CPL) opening in March.
Steamships Group of Companies built the complex and will be leasing it to CPL. The new supermarket complex will be twice as big as CPL’s flagship Stop N Shop at Waigani Central, which has an area of 2,500sqm. Chairman Mahesh Patel (pictured) said the new Waigani Central houses all the retail brands of CPL Group and a multiplex cinema. “It (the complex) will also include a bookshop, full walk- in liquor department, pharmacy, digital shops and a new hardware concept store,” he said. Patel said this would be the largest supermarket in the country with much bigger offerings of fresh food, seafood, grocery and foodstuff and non-food lines. “We want our customers to be able to shop in a much-improved environment, with almost 600 car parking slots, advanced information technology (IT) applications such as in-store WiFi, apps for our specials offers, in-store interactive experiences, much-wider range of products at the best price,” he added. He earlier told The National that Waigani Central should not be compared with Vision City, which was a mega mall, as this would be a stand-alone supermarket. This 50,000 square feet supermarket is situated at the former Port Moresby Transport yard, just next to CPL’s Waigani Central Stop N Shop supermarket. Patel said CPL aimed to learn from this investment and duplicate it with all its new projects. CPL had established five strong retail brands such as City Pharmacy, Stop N Shop, Hardware Haus, BonCafe and HomeMaker. In first quarter of 2012, it opened Paradise Cinema – PNG’s very first multiplex cinema, which is on the third floor of Vision City. In 2011, the CPL Group had a combined retail operations of 54 stores nationwide, which employed more than 2,000 staff, of whom 95% were Papua New Guineans. Its retail network spanned health and beauty chains, grocery, hardware stores, coffee shops and now a multiplex cinema. PNG Facts ONE species of Asian bees being introduced into the country is slowly killing the apiculture (honey bee) industry, Farmers and Settlers Association president Wilson Thompson said.
He said these bees carried varroa mite parasites, which were damaging to the health of the local bees. Thompson said: “PNG has problem with Asian bees that brought in varroa mite that earlier affected the European bee population and production. “The Farmers and Settlers Association is concerned that the issue raised here could affect the already depressed bee population and also might have impact on production and productivity of food and agricultural cash crops in the country. “We are concerned that the World Bank reported in November last year that a production and export figure from the tree crops sector has decreased and some are lowest in the 10-year period”. Thompson said apart from other factors that affected production, the role of bees in pollination process must be acknowledged and the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) and National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) must immediately review their research in this area. “We commend NARI that has done preliminary studies, but it should expand such studies in light of decreased crop production and further impact of varroa mite and other diseases that might affect the beekeeping and honey industry.” PNG Facts / The National The P-N-G Chamber of Commerce has expressed concern about P-N-G Power Limited's decision, to increase electricity tariff by 5.9 per cent.
It's Chief Executive Officer, David Conn, says this increase will put a lot of strain on businesses, forcing them to dig deeper into their pockets. Mr. Conn adds, small business people will also be put under a lot of pressure by this tariff rise. He says, although the Chamber understands the pressure on the cost, which led to the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission to approve the increase, it seems too fast for consumers. I-Triple-C approved the increase, following an annual review in electricity tariffs, based on fluctuating fuel prices, P-N-G and Australian C-P-I, the Kina and Australian Dollar exchange rates and other factors. A registered Papua New Guinea property investment company, will return to Fiji next month, to sign Memorandum Of Understandings, with interested businesses there wanting to set up here.
Fiji Broadcasting Corporation reports, Sanamu Investment Group Limited, is offering land to local companies in Fiji, to establish their operations in P-N-G. It reports, the company held a presentation to local business in Suva, recently. Managing Director, Joe Kobol, claims they own a big piece of land in Papua New Guinea which they have subdivided, to give to businesses on certain conditions. They are willing to give some to Fijian businesses, who wish to set up here. Kobol says following the presentation, they have received a lot of interest with regards to their offer. MORE than K100 million has been spent to upgrade the telecommunications sector to make it more competitive in the 21st century market, Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) managing director Wasantha Kumarasiri said.
According to an Oxford Business Group publication, Kumarasiri said in its (IPBC) effort to revolutionise the telecommunication sector, Telikom PNG Ltd, a state-owned-enterprise, had undergone changes worth K123 million (US$58.7 million) to make it more competitive in the current market. “The company is upgrading its antiquated equipment to deliver a more reliable service for its customers,” Kumarasiri said. He said access to wireless communication solutions and high-speed broadband were also being improved through a new fibre optic network worth K71 million. “And an additional capacity valued at US$88 million is being installed as part of the PNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) project,” Kumarasiri said. He said these initiatives had to be a solution, which also includes extending GSM (global system for mobile) and CDMA (code division multiple access) coverage. Meanwhile, Kumarasiri said upcoming projects included significant expenditure in telecommunication sector and other sectors, including development of port infrastructure and improving power supplies. Among them include the relocation of Port Moresby wharf. Kumarasiri said IPBC is working on the project to see it being carried out successfully. “It is expected that this project will require significant expenditure. Once completed, it will improve the movement of cargo and port efficiency.” He also said development of the Lae tidal basin project will bring maximum benefits to the country as a whole. “The Lae tidal basin development project, which is in excess of US$400 million (K968.5 million) will have its benefits delivered to the public.” He said investments were being delivered in key public utility service sectors. Kumarasiri said in a way, it is IPBC’s aim to facilitate the public-private partnership or operation and management agreements. “The private sector has some natural benefits, including new sources of funding, modern work practices and ability to foster expertise that SOE’s (state owned enterprises) are currently lacking in management areas. PNG Facts / The National THE MINING department needs to immediately stop the use of Foreign Consultants to review the 1992 Mining Act and its policies, says President of the Resource Owners Federation of PNG. President Jonathan Paraia claims that the use of such consultants in the past has deprived the country and citizens of a fair return in royalties, equity and other benefits from mining their mineral deposits. He is making this call to the government and adding that the laws and policies have been written to benefit the foreign investors at the expenses of the citizens. “This is why the country has been and continues to be branded as an "impoverished watershed", when it is richly blessed with natural resources. “Our Political leaders and civil servants are either incompetent or blind to continually use foreign consultants even when such practice is prohibited by the National Goals and Directive Principals of our National Constitution. “Section 279 subsection 3 of the Constitution among others call for the "strict control of foreign investment capitol and wise assessment of foreign ideas and values so that these will be subordinate to the goal of national sovereignty and self -reliance. In a statement, Mr Paraia stated that The Minister and Secretary of Mining must now explain to the nation the reasons for their continued use of foreign consultants to review the 1992 Mining Act and Policies. “Knowing that the use of such consultants in the past has deprived the nation and its citizens of fair social and economic benefits arising from almost all the mining projects in this Nation. “They must explain why they have not been able to exclusively use our own citizens to carry out the consultancy work in reviewing the legislation, when we have thousands of qualified citizens after 37 years of Independence and education,” he said. He said the consequence of the actions of the Mining Department is evident in the results of the work produced by the Consultants. “For example: the amended Mining Act proposes to lock mineral royalty rates at 2% again while current mineral royalty rates in other countries in Asia Pacific region average at above 10%. “The rate of 2% has been locked in the Mining Act since 1992, whilst common practice in other countries is to adjust these rates when economic conditions change,” Mr Paraia stated. He said the amended Act further proposes that equity participation by landowners and Provincial governments be maintained at 5% each. He said any conduct by them that breaches the constitution of this country, as is the case by their use of foreign Consultants, is what the federation believes is a breach of the Constitution and amounts to a misconduct in Public office. The Federation has also made submissions on behalf of landowners in the country, but we have not been given a copy of the draft legislation for review. Why is it still a secret? “We call on all MP’s not to vote for any amendment that denies this country and its citizens of fair social and economic returns for the extraction of minerals from our soils,” he said
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