The ICCC Commissioner issues warning about ‘complete chaos’ with the National Electricity Authority Act, Treasurer gives hope to potential overseas workers, and Nasfund opens a service centre in Maprik. The business news you need today.

Nasfund Chairman Charles Vee and CEO Ian Tarutia at the opening of Nasfund Maprik. Credit: Nasfund

National

Minister for Treasury, Ian Ling-Stuckey, reportedly said that screening for potential workers for the Pacific Labour Mobility Program between Australia and New Zealand will resume in August and continue throughout September. Ling-Stuckey also said that the government is still committed to having 8000 Papua New Guineans working under this program by 2025.

‘This would mean more than K200 million in remittances to families back home,’ the Treasurer said. (Post-Courier)

Superannuation

Nasfund has opened its Maprik Service Centre, becoming the first superannuation provider to have a permanent branch in Maprik district, East Sepik Province.

‘This is also the first major milestone for the fund, after signing a MoU in December 2020 with the East Sepik Provincial Government, to enable a closer working relationship on providing financial literacy through superannuation, as well as a closer co-operation in investment opportunities in this part of the country,’ said Charles Vee, Nasfund’s Chairman. (Nasfund)

Resources

‘All [resources] projects must have a transparency and accountability clause inserted in their reports,’ the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PNGEITI) has suggested. The clause would help PNGEITI access, collect and present information to the public. Oliver Maingu, PNGEITI’s Stakeholder Coordinator, reportedly said: ‘We want the provincial administration to put weight on having the companies insert that as a key requirement.’

Maingu also said that PNGEITI is not seeking to duplicate roles with other agencies but to present information to the general public. ‘Our reports will talk about the raw products, how contracts are awarded and negotiated, the data and now revenue us distributed from the national government down to provincial government so it basically gives people a good understanding of the process.’ (The National)

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After an article in the Post-Courier and other media enquiries, Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) said in a statement that there are ‘no benefits parked up pending payment to beneficiaries’.

OTML stated the company has been paying all benefits to the landowners and that claims from Mt Fubilan Landowners about payments not been made is incorrect.’ (OTML)

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Canadian company High Artic Energy Services, which provides a number of services for the oil and gas industry, has announced that it has agreed to provide services for the ‘abandonment of a legacy exploration well and the extension of its long-standing drilling services’ in PNG. CEO Mike Maguire said: “For High Arctic, these developments reinforce our optimism for PNG as momentum for meaningful drilling activity continues to build in the country.’ (Globe News Wire)

Travel

Air Niugini has announced that it will suspended its flights to Madang from 26 July to 16 August because of runway upgrades. During this period, Tropicair will be basing a smaller Twin Otter aircraft at Madang to operate services to and from Lae and Mt Hagen, where there will be Air Niugini connecting flights. (Air Niugini)

Energy

The Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC), Paulus Ain, has issued a warning about PNG’s new National Energy Authority (NEA) Act. Under the Act, the National Energy Authority will ‘assume the economic regulatory functions of the ICCC.’

‘There are a number of discrepancies, unclear provisions, overlapping roles, and inconsistencies within the NEA Act which is likely to pose detrimental impact and plunge the electricity industry into complete chaos which will further impact overarching government’s goal of 70 per cent electricity access by 2030,’ he said. (ICCC)