O’Neill puts contractors on notice

FORMER prime minister Peter O’Neill has placed contractors on notice that many contracts entered by the current Government at the eve of the general election would be thoroughly reviewed by any incoming government post election.
“All contracts signed by this Government should expect to be reviewed and if found to lack value or are corrupt or have not followed procurement laws and processes, will be cancelled,” he said.
“Similarly, companies that have limited capacity and no track record of delivering large scale projects, should take note that contracts will be subject to a comprehensive review by any incoming government.”
The Ialibu-Pangia MP said the signing of contracts with allegedly corrupt Chinese firms needed to be avoided during an election year.
O’Neill said it was “sickening” to see the prime minister (James Marape) accepting a loan of over K1.48 billion from the Australian government for marine infrastructure and days later signing another loan and contract with the Chinese company for nearly K782 million.
“This Government is unscrupulously placing our country into more and more debt,” he said.
O’Neill said it was also questionable for Marape to be attending the Beijing Winter Olympics when the country was still under emergency control due to the Coronavirus.
He said PNG’s incurring of further debt was being facilitated against a back dorp of failing state-owned businesses which had made losses of K447 million in 2020 and an unspecified amount last year.
Meanwhile, Marape said he would travel to China today to secure business, trade and investment opportunities for the country.
“It is my intention to secure major Chinese corporations and offer them incentives within our investment regulations,” he said.
The Tari-Pori MP added that the Beijing Winter Olympics tomorrow was a small part of the larger programme of engagements during his four-day (Feb 3-8) visit to China.