Revamp public utilities

WATER and power rationing in Port Moresby was the order of days leading to Papua New Guinea’s 45th Independence.
The government-owned Port Moresby water treatment company Eda Ranu advised that the emergency maintenance work carried out by PNG Power affected the supply of raw water into its water treatment plant hence, it was forced to do water rationing.
We have witnessed similar failures in the past from all those tasked with providing essential services.
Water PNG owns and operates 22 water supply systems throughout PNG including Lae, 13 towns and 8 district towns.
Eda Ranu formally took control of the supply of water and sewerage services in Port Moresby on Nov 1, 1996.
Leading up to 1996, the network of water and sewerage services were stretched beyond limits.
Many areas were experiencing days without these much-needed services and water carts were a common sight.
The last major upgrade to the water and sewerage network was carried out by the Australian Department of Housing and Construction between 1971 and 1973.
The approximate population served then was 150,000.
By 1993, the population had doubled.
In the same year, the government commissioned Japanese International Cooperate Agency (Jica) to undertake the study and present their recommendation to the government.
The study concluded that water supply and sewerage services networks were outdated, undersized for the present demand, and would require a major capital works programme to meet the city’s requirements.
Jica also recommended that a separate entity solely dedicated to managing the water and sewerage services in NCD be established.
On Jica’s recommendation, the government established Eda Ranu and the National Capital District Water and Sewerage Act 1996.
State Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel earlier this month said there were plans to expand Eda Ranu to meet the water demands of the city and nearby Motu-Koita villages.
PNG Power is a state-owned entity that is dedicated to providing a reliable electricity service to the people.
Lack of funding for upgrading and rehabilitation and even for routine maintenance has led to a further deterioration in services, while the anticipated rise in demand due to economic growth and an increasing population has further stressed the system.
Currently, PNG Power is unable to meet the electricity demand in the country with its aged infrastructures.
The public frequently blame workers from those entities for any outage or water cuts.
They have coped the blame for successive governments’ failure.
Successive nations either maintain or replace their infrastructure every 10 years or so while affluent and industrial countries maintain and purchase theirs as times change.
Governments change, in comes a new minister and most times boards change which leads to the entities having a new leader and most times plans are either pushed aside or nothing is planned.
Unless, this government takes on the challenge to reform the State-owned Enterprise as announced by Muthuvel, disruption to water, electricity, and communication will continue for the next 10 years.