Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea — Former Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has raised concerns over the financial state of Ok Tedi Mine, alleging that the mine has amassed over K800 million in corporate debt as it struggles to meet the demands of the Government. In a statement, O'Neill highlighted that Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) was transferred to the ownership of the State of Papua New Guinea and the people of Western Province in 2013. This transition aimed to ensure that the benefits from the mine directly reached the people most impacted by its operations. "The people of Western Province were severely lagging on almost all development indicators despite decades of hosting the behemoth mine and decades of the failed efforts of the offshore-controlled PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP)," O'Neill said. "Despite the best intentions of many, the people of Western Province were losing out, and my government felt enough was enough and undertook the transition of mine ownership to the people of the Western Province."
O'Neill accused the current government, led by Prime Minister James Marape, of using OTML as a financial lifeline to support its spending habits. He pointed out that OTML, which declared itself debt-free in 2021, has now reportedly accumulated K800 million in debt. This debt comes despite OTML paying out dividends totaling K1.2 billion since 2021: K450 million in 2021, K300 million in 2022, and K450 million in 2023. "In the last five years, OTML has been used like a milking cow as the Marape government extracts money out of OTML to prop up his lavish spending habits," O'Neill stated. "How can it, just three years later, have amassed an apparent K800 million in debt? Is OTML borrowing at commercial interest rates and simultaneously being asked by the government to pay big dividends each year?" O'Neill expressed his concern over OTML's recent involvement in supplying JetA1 aviation fuel when the Government failed to secure a supply, suggesting that while it is commendable for OTML to assist, its primary focus should remain on operating and developing the mine and serving the people of Western Province. "The mine should not be used by Marape this way but instead stay singularly focused on operating and developing the mine and serving the people of Western Province. To hear that the mine is now shackled with massive debt is deeply concerning," he said. "If it were not bad enough that the State is sinking in debt and unable to pay even the basics such as public servant wages on time, we now learn institutions like OTML are borrowing big and simultaneously being asked to contribute big dividends to the Government only for the Government to misspend." O'Neill concluded by calling on the Government to keep its hands off OTML and invest the monies directly into improving the lives of the people, particularly those in Western Province. "OTML and other state-owned entities are not the piggy bank of the Government of the day. Grubby hands need to be kept off the assets of the people," he asserted. Also read Comments are closed.
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