Kavanamur heads Kumul

PROFESSOR David Kavanamur has been confirmed as chairman of the Kumul Consolidated Holdings Ltd.
Prime Minister James Marape also named Ian Allan Tarutia and Albert Mellam to be non-executive directors of the company board.
They replace Peter Aitsi who was chairman up to December, and Ian Clarke. The appointments were gazetted on Dec 24.
The appointment of Kavanamur as chairman came into effect in November, a month prior to the change in ministerial portfolios and the departure of Aitsi.
Marape said the appointment of Kavanamur was “on merit”.
There was some public debate last month when Aitsi said he was resigning as chairman and board director because of recent “changes to ministerial portfolios”.
The Government claimed that he had already been sidelined earlier by former state enterprises minister Sasindran Muthuvel.
Marape said he also understood that Cabinet had already confirmed that Aitsi be replaced by Kavanamur.
Aitsi claimed he had not been notified officially that he had been sidelined and that was why he was officially tendering his resignation.
Aitsi in a letter thanked the Government for the opportunity to be chairman of the “prestigious and important organisation”.
Kavanamur is the economic and infrastructure adviser to the prime minister and a former secretary to the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science Technology.