The fuel saga has gone to the point where the Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Kerenga Kua, declared an emergency on fuel starting today for the whole country.
The minister made the declaration of emergency under Section 136 (1) of the National Emergency Act 2021 and Section 4 of the Essential Services Act 2002, in relation to the supply of fuel and petroleum products and the provision of foreign currency.
Under this emergency, the plan of action now will be a roundtable conference between the state and the parties involved to take place on Wednesday 02nd August onwards to find possible means to resolve this matter once and for all.
Under the plan of action, the minister for a month will be chairing roundtable conferences with the parties involved; Puma Energy and the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG), to look into the allegations of fraudulent activities by the fuel distributor, get responses from parties involved, and ultimately come up with a possible solution to the whole fuel situation in the country.
All parties involved are urged to cooperate and reach a solution going forward in this prolong fuel crisis. Meanwhile, during the 30 days emergency period any party who fails to comply with direction, prohibition, or requisition under this Act, will be guilty against this Act and will be liable for a penalty of not more than K500, 000 of a body corporate, or not more than K100, 000 and imprisonment of not more than six months for a natural person.
The fuel emergency starts today and will go on for a month; however, the declaration of emergency can be extended, if necessary. Meanwhile, PNG Hausbung is expecting a response from the Managing Director and Chairman of Puma Energy PNG Limited later this evening, on the current fuel situation.