Southern Highlands Governor Hon. William Powi has called on the National Government to respect and protect the country’s institutions of governance, warning that unceremonious removals of high-performing executives undermine national development.
Governor Powi said governments and political leaders will come and go, but institutions must remain strong, stable, and respected if Papua New Guinea is to progress.
He made the remarks following the termination of Mr. Wapu Sonk, the Managing Director of Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL), whom he described as one of the country’s top-performing chief executives.
“If CEOs or departmental heads who are performing well are to be removed, they must be accorded the highest respect and rewarded for their service- not unceremoniously dumped to serve political interests,” Governor Powi said.
Mr. Sonk was dismissed by the KPHL Board, chaired by Mr. Gerea Aopi, from a State-Owned Enterprise in which the Prime Minister is the sole shareholder.
Governor Powi said the decision sends a troubling message to hardworking Papua New Guineans who have built their integrity, reputation, and professional standing over many years.
He said several experienced and high-performing CEOs, departmental secretaries, and managing directors-particularly from Southern Highlands Province-have recently become “sacrificial lambs” for political convenience.
“This is a sad moment for the people of Southern Highlands,” he said.
Governor Powi described Mr. Sonk’s termination as “a slap in the face” of the province, noting that Mr. Sonk transformed KPHL from a shelf oil and gas company into a K18 billion enterprise.
“I was part of the team, together with the late Anderson Agiru, then Governor for Hela, and the late Hon. Ben Micah, then Minister for State-Owned Enterprises, that appointed Wapu Sonk from Oil Search in Sydney to lead KPHL,” Governor Powi said.
“He returned home to build KPHL into one of the leading entities in PNG’s oil and gas sector. Instead of rewarding such performance, he has been terminated in breach of his employment contract.”
Governor Powi said allegations reported in Australian media were fabricated and used as a pretext for Mr. Sonk’s suspension and termination, which he believes was politically motivated.
“I am not speaking because Mr. Sonk comes from my district,” he said.
“As Governor, I have a duty of care to protect my people and our human resource -educated Papua New Guineans serving in government departments, state agencies, and SOEs.”
“I cannot sit back and allow my people to be dumped without respect. Such decisions are unacceptable.”
Governor Powi highlighted KPHL’s achievements under Mr. Sonk’s leadership, including the construction of major health facilities funded from PNG’s oil and gas revenues. These include the Heart Centre at Port Moresby General Hospital, the Cancer Centre at Angau Hospital in Lae, and Kidney Dialysis Centres at both Mendi General Hospital and Port Moresby General Hospital, among other transformational projects.
Meanwhile, Governor Powi also called on the National Government and the KPHL Board to release the long-awaited 4.27 per cent Kroton Equity in the PNG LNG Project.
He said the equity, held by the Government, must be offloaded to the rightful beneficiaries- the provincial governments of Hela, Southern Highlands, Western, Gulf, and Central, as well as impacted landowner groups.
“This equity has been politicised for far too long,” he said.
“It is only fair that it is released so our people can finally benefit from the resources taken from their land.”