‘K50mil payment not proper’

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FORMER Treasury deputy secretary Aloysius Hamou has told a court that K50 million paid to Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) for two diesel generators from an Israeli company (LR Group Ltd) in 2013 was not the proper process.
Hamou was giving evidence yesterday in the Waigani National Court in relation to a trial in a case of alleged abuse of office by former prime minister Peter O’Neill over the purchase of two generators.
The State alleges that O’Neill abused the authority of his office for directing the purchase.
Hamou appeared as a witness before Justice David Cannings and told the court that he was pressured by the secretary for Treasury Dairi Vele to sign off the documents, general expenses form and requisition expenditure form, for the purpose of transferring funds to BPNG to pay for the generators.
Hamou told the court that he become aware of the purchasing when Treasury received a letter from O’Neill on Dec 4, 2013, for the purpose of identifying funds to make the purchase.
As usual, he said, they (Treasury) had discussion concerning identification of the funds, which they identified from the 2013 national budget, and from there normal process of warrant authority and cash fund certification before it went through the Treasury accounts division to raise the cheque.
He said it was not proper that Treasury had paid the money to BPNG. The proper process was that the money would have been paid directly to the supplier or service provider – LR Group Ltd.
He also admitted that there was no supporting documents such as invoices or quotation from the supplier attached therewith the general expenses form and requisition expenditure form and other forms in requisition for funds to buy the generators.