crisis

Media

The NBC

Wrongful dismissal of employee becomes a costly affair

By Sam Vulum

A minor administrative failure by the executive management of the gov ernment-owned National

Broadcasting Corporation came close

to severing a vital communication supply line for 85 percent of Papua New Guinea’s rural population in October.

It also threatened the jobs of hundreds of others in the corporation’s 19 provincial radio stations and the future of government assets valued at more than K 7.3 million (approx.sUS4,2 million) at the Port Moresby headquarters.

The properties were ordered to be auc tioned or sold following the NBC’s failure to honour a court order to pay K 160,000 (approx. $U592,000) to a former broad caster, Peter Koringo, for wrongful dis missal in 1995.

In the event of a closure the only means of communication for people in some of the most isolated parts of the country, where there are no telephones, two-way radio systems, roads and proper shipping services, would be severely affected.

They rely heavily on the NBC through the provincial radio stations, for news, weather reports, shipping and airline movements, programs on education, health, agriculture, business and other important government services which directly affect their lives.

Koringo was a senior broadcaster with Radio Morobe in Lae, Morobe province when he was terminated. After two years since his dismissal, he successfully sought the help of the National Court sheriff’s office to order the seizure of the properties and put them up for sale unless the corpo ration paid up the damages claim.

The NBC management and staff were caught by surprise when a notice of the

seizure was posted outside the NBC head quarters on September 18.

The notice meant that the sheriff had legally seized possession to the studios and vehicles which would be sold off if NBC did not pay up or suggest alternative means about meeting the payments by September 19.

The deadline lapsed without any pay ment being made, but the corporation’s lawyer successfully sought and was referred to the Supreme Court to determine whether the National Court’s decision to award the damages could be stayed and whether leave could be granted for a judi cial review of that decision.

What followed, were a series of court challenges while confusion reigned at the NBC headquarters.

The properties again came close to being sold on October 20 when officials from the sheriff’s office confiscated and impounded the corporation’s vehicles from the headquarters.

The NBC faced double trouble on the day. While the vehicles had been confiscat ed, for the second fortnight in a row work ers’ pay was not ready in time because no money had been allocated - and neither the managing director Renagi Lohia nor his deputy Tony Boski could be found to sort out the problem.

The vehicles were returned late that afternoon with the sheriff Lawrence Newell saying the impounding had been a mistake. The pay problem had also been sorted out.

However, when this issue went to press, NBC and Koringo had yet to settle the dis pute.

The situation then was that the Supreme Court, on October 29, had again ordered the NBC to pay Kl6o,ooo(approx. $U592,000) as surely to the court by October 30.

The money would be kept pending determination of an application by NBC lawyers seeking leave for a review of the 1995 National Court decision which awarded Koringo this amount plus other additional costs.

If the NBC fails to pay, the court will discharge the writ for stay of levy of the properties at the NBC headquarters, giving Koringo the liberty to auction the proper ties and recover what was owned to him with eight percent interest and costs, the amount owed has increased to about K 260,000 (approx, SUS 148,000).

The writ for stay of levy of the proper

ties was granted by Judge Kubulan Los in September following an ex-parte applica tion filed by the solicitor-general acting for the NBC.

In early October, Judge Salamo Injia, sitting as a one-man Supreme Court judge, referred the matter to the full bench of the

Supreme Court.

On October 29, the full bench, compris ing Chief Justice Sir Arnold Amet, Justice Moses Jalina and Justice Gibbs Salika, which heard substantive matters on the application for a review of the 1995 deci sion, ordered that the NBC must pay the judgement debt.

It is likely that the government will foot the bill to save the corporation.

Acting Prime Minister and Provincial and Local-Level Government Minister Simon Kaumi on October 30 ordered finance secretary Isaac Lupari to pay the amount.

He was carrying out an earlier commit ment by Prime Minister Bill Skate that the government would pay off the damages claim if the Supreme Court review of the 1995 judgement was denied.

Skate had earlier said that government would not allow the sale of NBC under any circumstances.

“NBC is more important than most Papua New Guineans realise. The average villager relies on NBC for information, education and entertainment, and it has a loyal and steady following.

“Radio is the only national communica tion network that reaches the majority of our remote rural areas, as well as our city residents,” he said.

Earlier in the year, before the Koringo case broke out, speculations were rife that Telikom was going to take over the corpo ration’s commercial arm, Kalang Advertising Pty Ltd, after it failed to pay up a K 1,5 million (approx. $US860,000) debt for telephone, broadcast and facsimile lines which had accrued since the 1980 s.

The speculations were put to rest in October following the announcement by communications minister Simeon Wai that Telikom would not take over Kalang.

Instead, it would be given a period of six months to see if it was profitable.

Wajtsaid he had discussed the issue in a meeting with Telikom managing director Gerea Aopi and NBC chairman Renagi Lohia.

He said that it was agreed that Kalang Advertising would be given time to pay up the debt. ■