Kas under spotlight

PUBLIC Accounts Committee chairman, John Hickey wants to know why Madang Governor Jim Kas is the sole shareholder of the province’s business arm.

The Madang Development Corporation is the business arm of the provincial government. 

Hickey questioned the provincial administration staff over anomalies found by the Auditor-General in 2012. Top of the agenda was the set-up and operation of MDC.

Hickey was told by provincial administrator Ben Lange, who claimed to have been left out of the decision-making on MDC, that Kas was the sole shareholder who funded the operations of the company from the public funds of the administration.

Hickey said: “We are talking about an entity with an investment portfolio of about K50 million held by MDC since its inception.

“How come there are no documents provided to the committee on its asset register. There’s no annual return. 

“I want to know when was it established, who owns it and what business it is engaged in.”

Lange said there was a board and a management team but could not provide the names of the officials.

Hickey wants  a list to be provided with a full audit to be done and funded by the provincial administration.“What is the money supposed to achieve if a bankrupt and mismanaged corporation with no acquittals nor reports is allowed to continue unchecked?”