The impression that counts!

It will amaze many people to learn that a government minister owns a company which has been contracted by the department that the minister looks after. We are speaking of the Internal Security Minister Sani Rambi, who owns Mountain Hire Cars Ltd, one of several car rental companies that were contracted by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary to provide vehicles.

We are not disputing the need for vehicles to get police into action. Neither are we disputing the right of the Minister to own and operate a business (although there are times when we harken back to the 1970s battle between Sir Michael Somare and Sir Julius Chan over a leadership code proposal to ban ministers owning businesses!).

We are extremely worried however about a government department hiring vehicles from a business owned by their political head.What Mr Rambi did in business before he went into politics is his own business. But from the time he stepped into Parliament as an elected leader, there should have been an inbuilt sense of what is right and proper to kick in.This applies to both ends of the transaction.

The Minister should, in the minds of many, have kept his car hire business away from dealings with thedepartment he has control over. And the department should have known better than to do a deal with their Minister’s business.We seem to recall a senior public servant eventually lost his job after there was a furore about him taking on a family member to work for him, even though the sibling had very good work credentials.

That is, even when the person was well qualified and deserving of the job, it was the appearance that he could have got the job because of who he knew. A similar impression is created here.Although the Mountain Hire Car vehicles are probably very good and adequate for the job, the job involved transporting police officers around . . . and the contract payments going to a company owned by the Minister.

It would be a good example if the Minister stood aside until the authorities check the situation about police hiring of his vehicles and verify that it was all done in a correct and transparent way.


Source: Post Courier editorial

*** Probe Rambi and Baki

I refer to the report “Police Minister grilled over deals” (March 5). The allegations of millions of kina paid to Police Minister Sani Rambi’s rental car company that also involved Police Commissioner Gari Baki is a classic example of gross abuse of power and trust bestowed upon them.

It portrayed poor leadership qualities and hidden motives. Mr Rambi had put himself in a position of conflict of interest. He and Mr Baki owe the RPNGC members and the nation an explanation.

Where is transparency and accountability preached by the National Alliance party before taking office? I call on the authorities to conduct an investigation into both of them.

– David Ulg Ketepa,
Detroit, Michigan, USA