With recent social media outburst regarding the burning down of a warehouse operated by Post PNG that contained Census Material, the National Statistical Office (NSO) wishes to clarify and correct this misinformation.
NSO clarifies that they have a binding Storage & Logistics Services Agreement with Post PNG, who has been a major partner in providing storage and logistics services since it was contracted by NSO to provide storage and logistics services since 2019.
With having a Storage & Logistics Services Agreement, Post PNG has the prerogative to supply NSO with the above services in its entirety at a location deemed necessary for use and management.
The old warehouse at the former PNG Ports Wharf was dismantled because of the redevelopment exercise there.
Post PNG arranged for NSO cargoes to be moved to another location.
The new location was at Konedobu, Section 36, Lot 3, Lawes Road, it was that storage facility that got burnt next to Desh Besh Supermarket where both NSO and Desh Besh share the same gate, Bay 1.
NSO stated that the destroyed census materials were procured in 2021 through NPC Tender (APC Registration No.: 01/2021, 02/2021 and 03/2021) worth K14.1m and a further K800,000 worth of materials were from censuses and surveys that were conducted by NSO including furniture and equipment from the previous office located along the Kumul Avenue, Waigani.
NSO lost the following items worth almost K15m.
A) 2021 Census Printed Documents – over 60 different types of documents
B) 2021 Census Stationery – over 17 different types of stationery
C) 2021 Field Gears – over 6 different types of field gears
D) Census Accounts Files (2019-2022) including 2x containers
E) Office Furniture & Equipment
The Census tablets and accessories were yet to be procured when the incident occurred.
NSO clarifies that the tablets that were used in this Census arrived in the country in June 2024, a few weeks before the enumeration started in July 2024.
Furthermore, the tablets were procured as soon as funds became available in March 2024 after the ‘Black Wednesday’ mayhem.
The 22,000 tablets were stored in our forward bases at Hohola and Waigani and distributed to all 22 provinces from there.
On the 19th of January 2024 after the incident, Post PNG wrote to the NSO informing us of the destruction and damages caused by opportunists.
Through their contractual obligation, Post PNG took proactive steps in informing the Police (OB No.: 55/24) and the State of Emergency Controller on the same whilst deeply regretting the incident that took place.
Those assumptive and glory seeking keyboard warriors must visit Bay 1 at Konedobu, Section 36, Lot 3, Lawes Road and confirm their assertions.
NSO wants to clarify to the public that NSO has lost almost everything which was procured in 2021/2022 and stored for the conduct of the deferred 2024 National Population Census.
Those procured items were not used because of the 2022 NGE and the Covid 19 Pandemic that made the NSO defer the Census to 2024.
NSO conducted the 2024 Census using tablets and census materials that were procured after March when Census funds were released in March 2024.
Thus, stating it is clear that this census was the most challenging and had the shortest preparatory phase ever for such a major and resource intensive exercise in the country.