APEC Authority

40 Maseratis and two Bentleys were counted in a warehouse at T-wharf, with the Finance Minister saying the third Bentley is at Government Haus.

Finance Minister James Marape and APEC Minister Justin Tkatchenko led the group this morning as they opened the doors of the warehouse to reveal the vehicles.

The sale of the vehicles was put on hold after Sir Mekere Morauta raised a question in a recent Parliament sitting on these State assets, which prompted an intervention by the Ombudsman Commission.

When asked by journalists, Finance Secretary Dr Ken Ngangan confirmed that some allowances and payments are still outstanding, hence they have asked the APEC Authority to compile a list.

“We want to know exactly how much is outstanding so that we can seek some funding through the budgetary process,” Ngangan said.

He highlighted that the planned public tender of APEC assets and vehicles is an income-generation exercise.

Fire engines, ambulance and buses will be distributed among the provinces while the VIP vehicles, including the Maserati, will undergo public tender process.

An audit of all fleet used at the APEC summit, whether donated or purchased by the government, has commenced and should be completed by the end of the year.

The Jackson’s International Airport will be fully operational beginning today, November 12^th, and right through to November 18^th.

The airport facelift began on August 1^st and under three months, the Jackson’s International Airport now has a brand new VIP Transit Lounge with additional features like an arrow bridge, overlay of main runway and upgraded tarmac, fencing and parking space.

All these in compliance with international standards.

In a media statement, TIPNG is calling for the Government and APEC Authority to publicly disclose the total cost involved in the purchase of the Maserati and Bentley vehicles and to demonstrate their compliance with public procurement processes.

TIPNG said this in response to public condemnation of the purchase of 40 Maserati sports cars which were delivered last week and other luxury vehicles.

50 buses, 35 mini vans and 9 fire trucks were handed over to the APEC Authority by the Chinese Ambassador to PNG, Xue Bing, on Wednesday.

One of the most under-funded service providers in the country, the PNG Fire Service also benefits from this donation from the Chinese government, receiving nine new fire trucks.

Minister responsible for the Fire Service and Inter-government Relations Minister, Kevin Isifu, said as cities and towns grow, so do the threat of fire.

Isifu thanked the Chinese government for the equipment that will be used during APEC and beyond.

Foreign Affairs secretary William Dihm highlighted this during an APEC briefing for the Department of Foreign Affairs recently.

The briefing was carried out by the APEC Authority, APEC Secretariat and PNG Defence.

As a lead up to APEC 2018, the briefing was timely for the Foreign Affairs officers to plot where the department will come into play in the roadmap together with other line departments and agencies.

Dihm highlighted that working in a ‘whole-of-Government approach' means they have less institutional capacity.