The National Disaster Center workers have been locked out of their Kitpeng Building office located at Waigani Central in Port Moresby since last Thursday due to unpaid rentals.
This drama unfolded at a time when the adverse effects of El Niño are tightening their grip on the country.
Related news: https://www.postcourier.com.pg/another-govt-agency-locked-outstanding-rentals/
PNG SUN yesterday sent WhatsApp messages to acting Director Laso Mana to confirm the situation while disclosing how much is owed to the landlord. To date, he has not responded to our queries yet.
On WhatsApp, our queries were also amplified to Finance Secretary Samuel Penias and Chief Secretary to Government Ambassador Ivan Pomaleu. They are yet to respond to our queries.
Government Office Allocation Committee, which is responsible for office allocation and rentals, is chaired by the Chief Secretary.
The story is developing. We will keep you updated.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister James Marape has directed that K5 million be released to the National Disaster Center while K2.5 million each will be paid to all the districts and provinces for El Niño relief next week.