Check SOEs

Letters

Ministers Duma and Basil’s assessments of the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are spot-on.
Duma recently said that SOEs were under-performing while Basil said that we needed “hands-on” people to take the lead.
These are good and true assessments.
As a classic example, on January 18, PNG Power Ltd (PPL) made a media release with respect to the causes of the power blackouts in Port Moresby.
The acting managing director stated that the cause of one of the blackouts was a tree branch falling onto a power line.
The acting managingdirector further stated that“trees were beyond the control of PPL”.
She needs to know thefollowing:
1) Before a power line is strung and commissioned, the pathway for the powerline is cleared, i.e. all trees are cut down.
It is supposed to stay that way until such time the power line is decommissioned.
2) Trees take months or even years to grow, to the height of the power lines.
Given the above two points, PPL covered up for the incompetency of the executive management of PPL.
Worse still, the acting managing director is an expatriate.
Expatriates are supposed to come and train and develop nationals, not teach nationals to
make the SOE to look good when it is not.
The two ministers need to crack their whips immediately.
I fully endorse the demands by the “terminated employees of PPL” which was published on February 4.

Blackout
Port Moresby