Papua New Guinea Post: Rate Increase

Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta has made it clear that prices for telecommunications and mail services will have to rise in future to stop Telikom and Post PNG [Papua New Guinea] from being ‘a burden on taxpayers.'” The National: “In a separate statement on Post PNG, Sir Mekere said NEC [National Executive Council] had endorsed a detailed financial and management recovery plan. This followed the government’s decision to appoint an interim liquidator after the receipt of advice last August that Post PNG was insolvent and facing the risk of being wound up by creditors. Pending possible future privatization, he said, the ownership of Post PNG would be vested in the proposed Papua New Guinea Business Trust, to provide further insulation from politicization.” Financial arrangements approved by NEC for Post PNG include: a new price path so it could keep operating; stamp prices will not rise this year but will have to rise in 2003 and 2004, along with the price of post office boxes; the government will give a temporary subsidy of 1.4m kina to Post PNG to assist it in meeting the costs of operating a national postal service; arrangements to clear Post PNG’s liabilities to the National Provident Fund, the Internal Revenue Commission and other government authorities such as Telikom and Air Niugini; and support for some essential capital investment in Post PNG as part of the recovery plan.