Minister: Maseratis will be sold, report of shipment false

By LUKE KAMA
APEC Minister Justin Tkatchenko has assured the public that the 40 Maserati cars bought for use during the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summits will be sold off through public tender.
Tkatchenko, pictured, condemned reports that Customs officers in Port Moresby had stopped the shipment of three Maserati cars to Brisbane as “false and ridiculous by some desperate Papua New Guineans”.
“This is absolute rubbish posted on social media by some desperate people who don’t have anything good to offer and do for the people and the country,” he said.
“The 40 Maserati, all of them, are sitting at the wharf in a storage facility ready for disposal through public tender to be conducted by the Central Supplies and Tenders Board.
“These are just lies that has no basis or evidence of Customs documents or whatsoever to prove.”
He said he was not interested in buying the vehicles.
“I will not own any of these Maserati that will be disposed of through public tender,” he said.
He urged citizens to respect each other and to report to authorities any wrongdoing from leaders and people in authority.
“They must report (these) to law enforcement agencies with the evidence so that they can be dealt with accordingly,” Tkatchenko said.
“Otherwise, there is too much rubbish circulating on social media. It is not good for us as a country.”
Attempts by The National to get comments from PNG Customs Service were unsuccessful.