AWARDING CONTRACTS TO ‘FAMILY COMPANIES’ WORRIES OPPOSITION

PORT MORESBY: Awarding contracts to ‘family companies’ has raised the Opposition’s eyebrows.

 Opposition Leader Don Polye is calling  on the Central Suppliers and Tenders Board to rescind its decision to award a K20 million road project to a Southern Highlands-based company Construct Oceanic Limited.

“The contract should have been awarded to one of the local companies in Enga because they have the experience, expertise and capacity to deliver quality work to the people.

“The engagement of the company should be opposed outright by the people and the companies,” said Mr Polye.

He said the local construction companies are EJ Sisters, JLW, Loma, Kstar, MMK and Pele, adding they have good track records.

The company will work on a 16km road project from Mukurumanda junction to Tale Bridge in Wapenamanda, Enga.

“While capitalising on the Prime Minister’s position, O’Neill has set a wrong precedent for the parliamentarians by engaging his own family companies. Everyone wants to do the same because his followers have imitated from him,” a concerned Polye said.

He said O’Neill is so much concerned about his position and his family businesses and not the people.

The Opposition Leader has called on the people of Papua New Guinea to use their God-given wisdom to wake up from their slumber and advice their local MPs to exit from the O’Neill-led coalition government.

He called on SMEs and businesses to stop O’Neill and some of his cabinet ministers who ruthlessly are giving huge government contracts to themselves and their family businesses.

“The government should have empowered our small-medium entrepreneurs without any form of discrimination by way of giving them businesses and not only to a few preferred ones,” he said.

Polye accused O’Neill and some of his key ministers for not feeling ashamed and responsible for benefiting themselves using their positions at the expense of the people’s welfare.