Minister wants SOEs to contribute to development

STATE-owned enterprises (SOEs) must operate in a way that creates value and makes significant contribution to national development, says State Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel.
During a meeting with Australia’s Minister for International Development Alex Hawke, Muthuvel said they must operate in a way conducive to get support from multilateral and bilateral institutions.
Cabinet had appointed a ministerial committee and technical working group which had met a number of times.
“The entire SOE reform agenda is about improving service delivery, which will lift people’s quality of life, serving our people by providing them the services they need and deserve,” Muthuvel said. “There is strong support and assistance for the reforms I have initiated from Prime Minister James Marape and our fellow ministers.”
Muthuvel advised Hawke that SOE reforms would now progress more rapidly after the engagement of Isikeli Taureka as managing director of Kumul Consolidated Holdings. “His appointment was made through an open-market, transparent and skills-based recruitment process,” he said.
“New executive appointments at KCH and other SOE’s are being conducted using the same process.”
Muthuvel said a review of the composition of SOE boards, so that we get the correct mix of skills, experience and diversity specific to particular SOEs.
“This review is driven by our desire for SOEs to have robust and transparent governance so they can make sound decisions, which will improve delivery of reliable and affordable services to the people of Papua New Guinea,” he said.
He said the reforms were partly funded by the Australian government and international institutions such as the Asian Development Bank.