State entities joined

The National Main Stories

By MALUM NALU
THE Government has gone ahead with the amalgamation of Telikom PNG, DataCo and bmobile – under Kumul Telikom – despite the strong opposition by a trade union representing the employees.
Charles Abel, the Minister for National Planning and acting Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investment, also   confirmed Mahesh Patel as Kumul Telikom’s board chairman.
In a petition to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill this week, Telikom employees who are members of the PNG Communication Workers Union, had called for the sacking of Patel and managing director John Mangos, and the sidelining of chief executive officer Michael Donnelly.
Cabinet this week revoked the appointment of Mangos as managing director.
Patel remains the chairman and Donnelly will oversee the amalgamation of the three entities.
The union members also voiced their opposition to the amalgamation of the three State enterprises.
Abel said he was expecting a backlash from the union on Tuesday’s Cabinet decisions.
The amalgamation means that:

  • Telikom PNG remains a 100 per cent  subsidiary of Kumul Consolidated Holdings and renamed Kumul Telikom Holdings Ltd (Kumul Telikom);
  • bmobile and DataCo become subsidiaries of Kumul Telikom effectively creating an amalgamation of the three;
  • the three entities essentially remain intact;
  • the new board of Kumul Telikom includes former board members of Telikom, bmobile and DataCo; and,
  • Kumul Telikom will be overseen by a single board and a group managing director.

The board members are Patel, deputy chairman Reuben Kautu, directors Cedric Rondoke, Kili Tambua, Avia Koisen and Andrew Johnson.
“The amalgamation allows the cost-effective sharing of resources and market intelligence,” Abel said.
“The decision ensures that Kumul Telikom operates as an integrated retail and wholesale operator through its business units, bmobile and Dataco respectively.”