Dept,agency heads put on notice

By REBECCA KUKU
DEPARTMENT and agency heads who delay the implementation of economic recovery measures will be removed, says Prime Minister James Marape.
Marape said the Government had addressed inflation during the last Parliament and had passed a K611 million budget to support the economy but a slow bureaucracy had meant recovery measures were not as    effective.
He said some of the measures had included the fuel subsidy, the removal of goods and services tax on essential food items, the payment of school project fees and lowering of income tax .
“This was supposed to be implemented by the public service, but unfortunately when we went to election, they went on holidays or they probably thought Pangu Pati wasn’t coming back ,” he said.
Marape said department and agency heads who had dragged their feet would be kicked out.
Meanwhile, Marape also called on Mineral Resources Enga to sit with government agencies and sort out legacy issues and start talks so that the Porgera mine could be re-opened.
“The longer you delay, the more it is eating up your 15 per cent.
“We have already approved a K7 million infrastructure grant that also includes resettlement for the people, let’s work together,” he said. Marape said that the Wafi-Golpu project was in its final stages of preparation and would start soon and the Papua LNG was set to start operating in 2024.