NDB snubs agriculture minister, again

THE board and management of the National Development Bank (NDB) have again shunned Minister for Agriculture and Livestock MP Tommy Tomscoll by not attending the third scheduled meeting at his office.
The first was three weeks ago to brief Tomscoll on the activities and business of NDB and coincided with the commodity board meeting.
The bank was scheduled for the fourth day of the week-long briefing.
However, the minister’s office was told that NDB’s acting managing director was overseas.
Second meeting was rescheduled for the following week but no one turned up.
The minister, for the third time, got his office to schedule another meeting on Tuesday this week.
“We set the time for 10.30am on Sept 18 and the NDB board and management agreed to meet the minister on that day,” first secretary Tande Temane said yesterday,
“The minister waited in his office till noon.
“Without any explanation and reason, they didn’t turn up and Tomscoll left for Madang on Tuesday afternoon.
“For reasons known to themselves (NDB), they continue to remain defiant to directions from the office of the minister and don’t want to come for scheduled meetings.
“Their arrogance and disrespectful behaviour to the state minister is unacceptable and unwarranted.
“Have they got something to hide from the minister?”