Let state entities serve people, says MP

By JEFFREY ELAPA
STATE-owned enterprises (SOE) should not be used for political gains, Housing and Urbanisation Minister Ken Fairweather says.
He said during grievance debate in parliament last Friday that state entities supplying water, electricity and health were dealing with the basic needs of the people and should not be used for political point-scoring.
Fairweather said without the necessities, no nation could move forward as no public servants would work without them.
“The point is not the shouting and yelling on the floor of parliament when talking about state-owned enterprises,” Fairweather said.
“We cannot move forward if we play politics with the SOEs and we cannot play football with the people’s needs like water, health, education and transport facilities.
“People cannot survive in
the modern world without
these basic services.”
NCD Governor Powes Parkop said state entities should be empowered to make the services affordable to the people.
“If we see that the entities are service-oriented, then we have to continue to capitalise them even if they are not making profit.
“We should not pass the burden to the people,” he said.
Parkop said the entities needed to serve the people.
“We are a developing nation and we should not compare or introduce policies from outside that will not work in the country like privatising vital service delivery entities as it will affect the lives of the people,” he said.
Tari-Pori MP James Marape said if there were flaws in any of the state’s dealings or with the SOEs, then, the new generation of young and vibrant leaders should stand up and restructure them because there was no point in arguing and attacking each other.