By Mathew Kepas,
The member for Kundiawa/Gembogl Hon Tobias Kulang has voluntarily handed himself into Lae police for assaulting the General Manager of road contractor, Shorncliff at the Nazab airport this morning. The MP slapped the General Manager on the tarmac of the airport as they were boarding an Air Niugini flight to Port Moresby. The incident happened in front of the owner of Schorncliff, Sir Tjandra and other passengers. The MP was refused boarding by airport security. After giving a statement to police, he called a press conference and issued a statement to the press in Lae on his actions. Kulang said the company and its woner had lied about completing the sealing of the ADB funded Kundiawa - Gewa road. According to the MP, Schorncliff had already been paid K18 million kina for the upgrading and sealing of the 10 kilometre road in the last 2 years. But they had only sealed 700 metres of the road. Mr Kulang said, Sir Tjandra and his General Manager were travelling to Port Moresby to see the Works Department with the project variation requesting for an additional K18 million kina from the national government, to complete sealing the remaining 9 kilometres of the road. Mr Kulang said when he enquired this morning with Sir Tjandra at the airport why the road was NOT completed in November 2013, as signed in the contract agreement, the General Manager of Schorncliff interjected and said there was a variation and an additional K18 million kina was needed to complete the project. Sir Tjandra also remarked that the MP should go and see the Prime Minister and ask for the additional funding. Mr Kulang said that particular remark infuriated him and that's where he lost his temper and slapped the General Manager, as the contractor is now cheating and trying to defraud the state off millions of kina. "The road project is only 10 kilometer and the work is for upgrading and sealing only, it is not a fresh cut in the jungle, it is an existing all weather road with a very solid base, Kulang explained. He revealed that contractors were manipulating the government system and robbing the state off millions of kina in inflated road projects such as the Kundiawa to Gewa road in his electorate. Mr Kulang said if the company does NOT complete the road sealing as per the signed agreement with ADB and the state, under the contract laws of PNG, he will sue the company for fraud and they must be held accountable if they abandon the yproject prematurely. Mr Kulang said he is deeply embarrassed about what happened from his actions as a national leader, but the issue at hand had prompt him to act like this. It is not known if the person who was assaulted by the MP has laid a formal complaint with Lae police on the incident. Comments are closed.
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