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Progressive Report on APEC PNG 2018 released

Statement by PNG Finance Minister Sir John Pundari 

As the Minister for Finance and Rural Development, I am the Minister mandated by the Hon. James Marape MP, the Prime Minister, with the administration of the  - 

  •  Public Finances (Management) Act, which controls the efficient and ethical use of public money in Papua New Guinea;
  • The National Procurement Act, which is implemented by the National procurement Commission; and
  • The winding up of the APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 Co-ordination Authority under the terms of the APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 Co-ordination Authority Act 2014.


These are the relevant pieces of legislation that places my Department in charge of disposing all APEC vehicles.

When I took office as Minister for Finance and Rural Development I was very aware of the public appetite for closure on the APEC Report and disposal of the assets of the wound up APEC Authority. Thus one of my first instructions as Minister was for a detailed update on their status. The Marape – Basil Government assures the public that all outstanding issues will be addressed. NEC has met in relation to this and is on top of its progress. 

We ensure that the public has full disclosure and there is complete transparency in the process. For the information of the people of Papua New Guinea, I am pleased to report the progress in respect of the disposal of the APEC vehicles from my office.

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𝟏. 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 & 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗖 𝗩𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀

According to Department of Finance’s records, including other sourced documents from MVIL; motor dealer companies; Donor Agencies; and APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 Co-ordination Authority:

  •  326 vehicles were state purchased; and
  •  166 vehicles were donated by our development partners mostly from Japan and China;

The total of all APEC acquired vehicles was 492.

Donor Agencies made it clear  that all donated vehicles must be donated at no cost to State departments, churches, NGOs, government institutions, schools and hospitals.

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𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗖 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀

From the total of 166 Donor APEC vehicles:

  • 8 vehicles given to Churches
  • 15 vehicles given to Schools
  • 12 vehicles given to Hospitals
  • 15 vehicles given to Departments
  • 63 vehicles given to Police
  • 10 vehicles given to Fire Service
  • 10 vehicles given to Provincial Health Authorities
  • 34 vehicles given to Charity Organizations & NGOs in PNG

The Donor APEC vehicles were distributed to the above classes of institutions throughout PNG based on the receipt of their interest letter.

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𝟯. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗖 𝗩𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀

The Final phase of disposal is for the State Purchased APEC vehicles. From the total of 326 State purchased APEC vehicles;

  • 199 are Low-end vehicles
  • 127 are High-end vehicles 

Following National Executive Council (NEC) Decision No. NG 03/2019, the Department of Finance, through National Procurement Commission, has donated the low-end APEC vehicles (H1 Hyundai Van Buses; Sedan Taxis; Mahindra Station Wagons; and the Fuso Rosa Mitsubishi 30 Seater Buses) to provinces and districts.

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𝟰. 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗖 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 & 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

All 22 Provincial Government Arms are allocated 30 Seat Fuso Rosa Busses. All 89 District Authorities are allocated Hyundai H1 Vans and the Mahindra station wagons. A progressive total of 22 Provincial Governments and 75 District Authorities have received their vehicles already.

As confirmed from our records, 14 districts are outstanding and will receive their vehicles shortly once all vehicles under interim arrangement with government agencies are recouped. Once the outstanding vehicles are returned and grounded at the CT4 Wharf, the Department of Finance, through National Procurement Commission will distribute the remaining allocated vehicle to the remaining 14 Districts. 

No APEC vehicles were allocated to individual persons or public servants in this disposal exercise.

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𝟱. 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻-𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱

A total of 127 high-end APEC vehicles such as Maseratis, Bentleys, Prados, BT 50s,  Land Cruiser VXs, Ford Rangers; Wild tracks, Land Cruiser 10 Seaters, and Toyota Land Cruiser 5-Doors will all be disposed through public tender.

A total of 43 Maserati and Bentley vehicles have already gone up on tender. The remaining other high-end vehicles will be assessed by Works BOS team and recommended to the Finance Department for public tender.

The written-off vehicles will be disposed by way of sales through public tender also. This will also be done together with the high-end vehicles once all distribution exercises throughout PNG regarding APEC vehicles are fully achieved.

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𝟲. 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

Out of the 40 Maserati and 3 Bentley vehicles, 2 Maserati and 1 Bentley vehicle have already been sold and generated K1.6million revenue for the State.

The remaining two (2) Bentley vehicles were allocated to the Office of the Governor General and the Office of the Prime Minister for official use purposes.

The remaining 38 Maserati vehicles were re-tendered and are now open to both national and international markets for bidders to bid on. This is still in the vetting process and awarding of successful bidders will follow shortly after. 

In accordance with directions issued under NEC Decision No. 51/2021, the remaining balance of all Maserati vehicles after public tender sales will be allocated to designated PNG Foreign missions throughout the world for official use. A number of Maserati vehicles will be kept in the country and managed under the National Events Council (PMNEC) which will be reserved for diplomatic and official uses.  

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𝟳. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗖 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀

Finance Department is now progressing into the recovery phase of the APEC vehicles which are missing (all accounted) and those that are under temporary arrangements. About one hundred and ten (110) State purchased APEC vehicles are still in the hands of general public and certain public officials. 

These vehicles are all accounted for and will be recouped by Finance Department with assistance from Police very soon. A total of 50 vehicles are currently utilized by Police, Defence, Health, National Pandemic Office and other government agencies under temporary arrangements. Once recovery is complete, these vehicles will firstly be distributed to the remaining 14 Districts and the balance will be put to public tender for immediate disposal.

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𝟴. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗳 𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗖 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿

In line with National Executive Council (NEC) Decision No. 51/2021, the Department of Finance will publicly tender the remaining High-end APEC vehicles, as well as the written-off APEC vehicles, through National Procurement Commission (NPC) in consistent with the Public Finances (Management) Act and the National Procurement Act.

This exercise will commence once all missing vehicles are recouped and assessed by the Department of Works. 

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𝟵. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗖 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀

The Department of Finance has donated a scanner and Xray machines to the National Airport Corporation. Other APEC assets such as plant and non-movable assets (land & buildings) are currently under the custody of Finance Department through the Government Office Accommodation Committee (GOAC). Those assets will be managed by GOAC for official government activities.

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𝟭𝟬. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝗻 𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗖

The full report of the disposal of APEC assets will be made available to the NEC, Ombudsman Commission, PM&NEC, Office of the State Solicitor, Police, and the Departments of Treasury and Works.

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In conclusion, the Department of Finance and the National Procurement Commission aim to fully complete the disposal exercise by December 2021, so that the government restores public confidence in the way the government manages public money and properties. The Public Finances (Management) Act and the National Procurement Act control the disposal exercise, and the Finance Department and the National Procurement Commission are cooperatively ensuring that all due processes are followed and the disposal exercise is fully accomplished according to the laws.

As a responsible Government, we have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that we uphold the principles of good governance and transparency. As Minister responsible, I present this progressive update for public consumption.

On that note, I would like to commend the good work of the Finance Secretary Ken Nangan and his officers at the Department. They have performed their duties responsibly and I am satisfied with the detailed reporting they have provided. I encourage them to continue the good work as we bring this important public matter to closure.

May God bless Papua New Guinea.

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𝗛𝗢𝗡. 𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗣𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗜, 𝗠𝗕𝗔, 𝗞𝗕𝗘, 𝗖𝗠𝗚, 𝗖𝗠𝗔, 𝗠𝗣

𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁


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