Firm steps in to help improve neglected venue
The National, Thursday 2nd May 2013
ADMINISTRATORS of the Lloyd Robson Oval are fighting to show they are building up their capacity to effectively manage the country’s premier ruby league venue in Port Moresby.
They have made their intentions clear by securing a corporate backer in Melanesian Trustee Services Limited, through the Pacific Balanced Fund (PBF), to change the face of the car-park entrance with the building of a new wall.
The tie with the fledgling sporting icon was officially set in place during an engagement ceremony last Friday for stakeholders and the media.
Melanesian Trustee Services Ltd chief executive officer Kennedy Wemin, pictured, said they saw the facility as a neglected national symbol and as part of their responsibility to the community, they had come to the party with up to K100,000 to ensure it got a new coat of paint.
The wall has slots for corporate signage that will give the administrators, the Port Moresby Rugby Football League (POMRFL) board and management, another avenue to make money.
The POMRFL interim board is headed by Samson Unagi.
With the bank, interested major corporate entities and the ministry responsible for the 2015 Pacific Games breathing down their necks to fold-up and agree to terms of a trustee arrangement, this new deal now changed the level of the playing field.
There are new plans in place to re-build the venue to a state of the art entity with a proposed commitment in the region of K40 million already being made.
With that resolve the bank is prepared to forfeit a long standing loan inflicted by past management in the region of over K800,000.
However in doing so, the bank wants all parties concerned to set up a board of trustees to manage the affairs of running the proposed new-look facility transparently.
They will in turn release the title. This will mean this administration stands to lose their powers.
It is understood that if this proposal fails, the facility will lose all the planned infrastructure development and the next other proposed avenue targeted is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, under the management of the Motu Koita Assembly.