SENIOR employees of the National Airport Corporation are calling on the Prime Minister James Marape to remove the Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation Walter Schnaubelt.
Officers (named) said there are many allegations against the Minister since he was first appointed, one of which is his referral to the Ombudsman Commission (OC) early this year.
They further alleged that should any investigations is to be conducted; the Minister must be sidelined because there are evidences to show his personal interest.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director Rex Kiponge took to his Facebook page and in detail and chronological order highlighted the true events leading up to the tactics now applied to remove him from office.
Mr Kiponge wrote; the person behind all these will be exposed and the country must know.
“I have decided to do this so that the Government sanctioned Independent Investigation Team must include these matters as part of their Scope.
The chain of events sees the Minister Schnaubelt on the 14th of February 2022, current Transport and Civil Aviation Minister, who was then Civil Aviation Minister in the 10th Parliament directed a company named “Namatanai Building and Civil Limited” to write to me requesting for a payment of K1.5 million from National Airports Corporation Limited. The payment was for Namatanai Airport.
On the 7th of March 2022, I sent a Whatsapp message to Minister Schnaubelt informing him that NAC will assist his Namatanai DDA with K20,000 cash only for the commissioning of Namatanai Airstrip because maintaining airstrip was not NAC’s role but we can assist the Airstrips from time to time when NAC cashflow improves.
On the 8th of March 2022, he responded by WhatsApp and declined the offer and said his submission with NAC is for K1.5 million.
Because of the Minister’s direct interferences and actions, the NAC Board of Directors referred the Minister to OC for investigation on the 22nd of June 2022 through a Board Resolution.
Around February/March 2022, Minister Schnaubelt met with NAC board acting chairman and attempted to force him to call a special board meeting to terminate my contract, but unsuccessful.
On the 26th of August 2022, Minister Schnaubelt after the formation of government, called one of the NAC board directors and told him that he was going to appoint him acting board chairman, and requested he call a Special Board Meeting to terminate my contract.
On the 26th August 2022, the minister invited me for coffee at 6pm, at Mojo at the back of Bank South Pacific (BSP). I went there thinking that I will brief him on the operations of NAC as the incoming Minister in the new Government. There, to my surprise, he told me to quietly tender my resignation and said all the NEC Members, and all of Pangu Party Members want me out of the position.
Among his other justifications, he said if I do not tender my resignation, he will lose his Ministry. He therefore wanted me to tender my resignation on Monday 29th August 2022, which I did not. Instead, wrote a 4-page letter to him stating my reasons.
Aggrieved by my response, the Minister said “don’t make me to fight with you”. He is now fighting with me,” Mr Kiponge alleged in his post.
Mr Kiponge stated, “It is a public knowledge that Minister Schnaubelt is negotiating with a Chinese Company (named) for K1.6 billion loan under the pretext to upgrade Port Moresby Jackson’s Airport. The same Chinese company approached me and my Management last year 2021, saying that” … if you and your board agree, we will deal with the Minister.
After several meetings with the Chinese company, NAC Board and Management rejected the proposal on the basis that NAC does not have adequate cash-flow due to COVID-19 impacts to enter into such a huge financial liability. NAC is comfortable with the ADB’s CADIP program and we were comfortable with the current partnership between ADB and GoPNG.
The Minister and his agents know very well they will not get the K1.6 billion proposal when I still remain the MD and with the same Board.
The NOTAM is an operational requirement under the CASA PNG approved document and the function of the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) was initially filed or established by NAC to alert the Aviation industry of the major security breach and thus was an initial and immediate action by NAC Aviation Security Division at PMIA occurred dated 11th Nov, 2022.
I am not involved in the Issuance of NOTAM. It is the function of the Airport Security Committee. When the data are submitted to NiuSky Pacific Limited, they verify and then publish the NOTAM,” Mr Kiponge stated.
Mr Schnaubelt must not use his political position as minister to tarnish my reputation. The airport security breach report is done by the airport security committee which will be submitted to Prime Minister by the committee on Monday 28th November 2022.
This report captures 15 serious Security Breach by the 17 members of the police force who unlawfully entered the airside from the exit gate from the arrival gate.
“My fight is not an isolated one for you all Dept Secretary’s, MD and CEOs of statutory organizations and public servants.
We cannot pretend as if all is working perfectly. We need to rise up and serve our country without fear or favor.
We have a duty to support the Marape-Rosso government achieve its visions and to do that, we need to work within the laws in our country.
I wholeheartedly welcome the independent investigation team and me and my NAC Management are available to assist them with whatever information they need,” he said
He also took the opportunity to urge the public to stop widespread defamatory comments in social media and respect the rule of law and allow the process to take its course.
