Is PNG Power taking the right steps?

 I APPLAUD the action taken by the government to save PNG Power from going bankrupt but there has been no mention on the steps PNG Power is taking to improve transparency on their procurement and contracting systems to better manage the funds that will be recouped.

PNG Power has been contracts for their operational items such as fuel and so on to companies who charge them double the price and this is where much of their reserve money has depleted. 

There was a recent case flagged by the Governor Garry Juffa, where a small and incompetent fuel supplier did not deliver the fuel on time to Popondetta, which caused blackouts for some weeks. 

I would wonder at what cost was PNG Power paying to receive an incompetent service such as this.

Other supply contracts are also questionable as many of the suppliers that PNG Power engages are not well established suppliers, therefore, you would only wonder about the prices, quality and the customer services these suppliers provide. 

After all, it is we the customers who suffer from these scrupulous deals.

A coin has two sides, therefore PNG Power must give assurance to its customers that it is also doing clean up with its procurement and contracting process to better manage the money that will be recovered.

Kim Sambo

Port Moresby