The Opposition has called the recent State sale of the Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited (MVIL) Shares in the BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) to the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) as an unfair concentration of national wealth.
The Member for Sinasina-Yongamugl and outspoken Opposition strong man, Kerenga Kua, said this is because the MVIL Shares now with the MRDC, is now owned by few resource provinces.
“As we know, MRDC is predominately owned by only a very few resource provinces. These few resources provinces are already benefiting immensely from resource projects in their areas.
Mr. Kua said they have between them shared several billions of kinas since 2014, compared to the rest of the majority of the provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
“On top of that the Minister (State- owned Enterprise Minister, William Duma) now sees it fit to take away property which benefits the entire nation and then put it again in the hands of those few provinces who are already benefiting from unequal and inequitable share of national resources,” said Mr. Kua.
“How can we call that a fair and inequitable distribution of the national wealth which is one of our ‘National Goals and Directive Principles’ in our Constitution, when it comes to the exploitation of our natural resources?”
“There are considerations that mature and responsible leaders must take into account because it impacts upon the cohesiveness and unity of our nation, and its long- term survival and sustainability.”
He stressed that when dealing with the nation’s wealth, leaders must always factor into their consideration the impact of their distributions on the maintenance of national unity and cohesiveness.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has made a strong call to the Prime Minister to immediately establish a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to look into the sale of the MVIL Shares to the MRDC, calling also for a freeze on the proceeds of the sale.