A company, one of whose directors is a senior official within Papua New Guinea’s department of health was paid more than 539,000 kina (A$200,000) to provide catering including for a Covid isolation unit in the capital from May to November last year. The revelations have prompted the country’s prime minister, James Marape, to call for a full investigation into the catering contract and the tender process by which it was obtained. Questions have been raised about what the money was spent on and whether the contract was a conflict of interest given Pawiong’s governmental role. Approached by Guardian Australia with evidence of the payments, senior government officials said a full investigation into the situation was required. Marape told Guardian Australia: “I am directing an investigation into this matter.”PNG’s Covid controller, David Manning, asked his staff to investigate the payments.

Source: The Guardian March 29, 2021 01:52 UTC