KCH on cash drive

By GYNNIE KERO
KUMUL Consolidated Holdings is putting pressure on State-owned entities to pay up their dividends to the Government, which itself currently owes more than K35 million in electricity and water bills.
Managing director Thomas Abe said it was now September and the State-owned companies must bring in some revenue to Treasury.
He was at Sirinumu yesterday with National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop, Eda Ranu and PNG Power Limited officials to talk to landowners who last weekend tried to close the dam supplying water to Port Moresby because of an unfulfilled promise to have the road up to the dam upgraded.
Parkop yesterday allocated K1m to have the road fixed, saying the Government was facing funding issues and had asked PNG Power, Eda Ranu and the NCDC to fund the five-kilometre road project.
Abe agreed with Parkop regarding the government’s financial situation and said the dividends from its entities would help alleviate the situation.
“Right now we are in September. I’m under pressure to tell the SOEs to pay up their dividends,” he said.
“The government owes PNG Power Limited in electricity bills more than K15 million and Eda Ranu K20 million in water bills,” Abe said.
He said the arrears had accumulated over a period of time.
On Sirinumu, Abe said PNG Power had an agreement with the landowners in 1991 to pay K1 million annually to their company.
He said about K36 million had been paid so far although there had been no report produced on how the money was used.
“I really don’t know how they account for those monies that have been paid,” Abe said.
“I haven’t seen any audited report. So if we are to review that agreement, my (KCH) board members will say: Let’s look at how those monies have been used so that we can review the agreement (to see) if there is any justification to increase that allocation,” Abe said.
He said the Eda Ranu Foundation had also been assisting financially small projects not only in the city area but also elsewhere.