Work to revamp parliament begins

By LESLIE OMARO
THE National Parliament has begun rolling out its maintenance programmes following K60 million funding from Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
Journalists were taken on a tour of Parliament House in Port Moresby by the adviser to the Clerk to Parliament, David Wambi, on Friday to see some of the major maintenance work that is being done.
The ninth parliament sitting will begin tomorrow.
Some of the maintenance work carried out were the installation of a new air-conditioning system, installation of new elevators, new tiling for the Prime Minister’s office, replacement of roofing and gutters, renovation of toilet facilities and new furniture and curtains.
“Other parliament members will get their offices renovated,” Wambi said.
He said all the maintenance work had been undertaken by reputable companies through the tender process.
Wambi said the Parliament Tenders Board, with the Clerk to Parliament as chairman, was in charge of the tender process.
“On the board are representatives from the finance and treasury departments to ensure there is transparency and compliance,” Wambi said.
He said work had been slow because of the schedule that was affected by the extraordinary and long parliament sessions.
But he said Speaker Theodore Zurenuoc had expressed his desire to see the maintenance work completed as soon as possible.
“The contractors are working around the clock to deliver the projects in time for the new parliament,” Wambi said.
“We are pleased with the progress so far and we would like to assure our members of parliament that we are set to welcome out leaders into the house.
“We focused on making sure that the offices building and facilities and other services are available and in good condition to use by the leaders,” he said.