New programme will transform SOEs, says Muthuvel

STATE Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel says a new state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform programme will transform SOEs.
He said the Government-endorsed programme would enforce the governance, accountability and sustainability of the SOEs with support from the Australian government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
“A lot of work has already been done to develop, fund and establish our reform programme that will not only change our SOEs for the better, but will achieve the objectives I originally set three months ago,” he said. The five key objectives include: a review of the existing companies to highlight the opportunities and issues; reform the legislation and regulations; restructure the business operations; refinance the company’s debts, fund the reforms; and, revitalise the businesses to build growth and service delivery.
“Operations and business audits of our key SOEs are underway, supported by DFAT and we have commenced development of the SOE strategic planning programme to underpin and guide the reforms,” the minister said.
“We have received confirmation of technical assistance from ADB valued at USD750,000 (K2.48million).
“We have also commenced the assessment and establishment of corporate governance programmes, including comprehensive review of SOE director appointments.
“We commenced negotiations to refinance and reschedule substantial SOE debt, currently over K5.5 billion.
“It is important to invest in our infrastructure, but we must do this sensibly and not place our sovereignty at risk with borrowings that we cannot afford to service.
“My ultimate objective is to ensure that these businesses deliver reliable, affordable and accessible services across PNG for the benefit of our people.
“These reforms will develop greater opportunities for growth – to provide job security and improved conditions for our hard-working employees.”
“We will stop political interference, we will plug the leakages and we will be appointing credible people to the boards and into senior management with merit-based appointments.
“These reforms will place the businesses in a better position so that the SOEs will once again make our country proud. “Our reform programmes are being designed to address the reliability and affordability of SOE services, requiring significant work and investment to tackle problems that have resulted from years of neglect.
“We will soon launch major project investments in power and communications, including the international submarine cable – a joint project by the governments of PNG, Australia and the Solomon Islands.
“The 4,700km communications cable is a game changer for PNG and will improve our communications capacity by over 2,000 times.