Govt office lockouts a national security issue, says Papua New Guinea Finance Secretary

News that matter in Papua New Guinea

Govt office lockouts a national security issue, says Papua New Guinea Finance Secretary

PORT MORESBY: At least five Government departments and agencies have been locked out by landlords because rental arrears have accumulated to multiple millions of Kina.

They are the National Statistical Office, Implementation and Rural Development Department, Petroleum and Energy Department, Government Printing Office and the Education Ministry.

But Finance Secretary Dr Ken Ngangan said the closing down of rented Government offices was tantamount to a national security.

“Such closures affect the functioning of Government machinery and service delivery,” he added.

He was responding to the lock out of the Education Ministry by Grand Columbia which claims the Government owed K74 million in rental arrears over the past few years.

The news break was reported by The National:

Govt office lockouts a national security issue: Ngangan

November 2, 2022The NationalMain Stories

FINANCE secretary Dr Ken Ngangan says the closing down of rented government offices by landlords affects the functioning of its machinery and service delivery, tantamount to a national security issue.
He was responding to the closure of department offices by the landlord Grand Columbia which claims it is owed K74 million in rental arrears.
However, Ngangan said that the amount was “contestable”.
He said the Government paid Grand Columbia K3.7 million last week.
“The Government is not running away from its commitment to settle these claims,” Ngangan said.
“We are paying our rents and will continue to pay.
“Even the prime minister, James Marape, has given that assurance.
“Treasury and Finance are working to secure more funding to settle these arrears.”
Ngangan said the government acknowledged the carry-over of rental arrears and assured the landlord that the arrears would be settled.
“Our team is working with the landlord to reconcile the discrepancies in the records,” Ngangan said.
“The Government is not running away from its commitment to settle these claims.
“We are paying.
“We ask landlords to be aware that locking out government offices affects the critical functioning of government machinery and affects service delivery.”
Departments and agencies locked out of their offices this year include the National Statistical Office, Implementation and Rural Development Department, Department of Petroleum and Energy and the Government Printing Office.
Grand Columbia owns buildings in Port Moresby which are rented by Government departments.

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