The move to corporatise Water PNG (WPNG) will align it with government expectation of raising revenue through state owned enterprises.
WPNG Board Chairman, William Sweet, says with corporatisation comes tax which they currently do not pay.
Currently WPNG only pays revenue to the Government in the form of dividends.
“With that (corporatisation) comes a lot of taxation that we weren’t used to paying because we were a statutory authority. So now we will be very much in line with what the government requirements,” said Sweet.
However, the move to corporatisation is on hold and any form of revenue generation for the state will have to wait following the rejection of the Water and Sanitation Bill in Parliament early this month.
The proposed Bill is to repeal the National Water Supply and Sewerage Act 1986 and replace Water PNG with a new entity called Water PNG Limited.
The entity is to operate as a fully commercial enterprise as envisioned under the Kumul Agenda.
The bill failed to muster the required majority number of 56 votes to be passed in Parliament following disapproval by the Opposition ranks, which called the bill another measure to tax the country to death.
The bill will be taken back to the drawing board.