Company halts operations, calls on State to fix electricity crisis
PAPUA New Guinea’s deputy prime minister John Rosso will be in Lae this week to try and head off a crisis with one of the country’s biggest manufacturers.
Lae Biscuit Company, which employs more than 2000 people, has shut its doors for two weeks amid what it sees as a government that is unhelpful to business.
A key concern is power outages caused by PNG
Power and laws banning factories from obtaining power through other sources.
“The biggest problem in PNG is power (electricity). PNG Power fluctuations are costing us million of Kina,” company chairman Ian Chow told the Post Courier newspaper last week.
Manufacturing companies could help address the problem but they need support, he said.
“This government is always talking about renewable energy and we need the legislative processing serving businesses to come into place.”
The biscuit maker, which has been around for the past five decades, wants to generate its own solar power, to provide a more reliable source and to increase its green credentials.
RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent Scott Waide said the company could sway the government view.
ELECTORAL districts in Samoa are set to screen prospective applicants for the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme as part of changes proposed by a Cabinet sub-committee.
$81k aid
Tonga is contributing T$100,000 tala ($F81,963.30) to help the Vanuatu respond to the destructive cyclones which hit the country two weeks ago. In a statement, the government said it is also assisting Tongan students presently studying in Vanuatu by providing additional allowances to cope with any extra expenses.