Hypocrisy of the National Development Bank Management

Advocate for Indigenous Constructions Industry 


The National Development Bank (NDB) has major plans on improving its current branch office buildings in preparation for the proposed NDB micro-bank by giving contracts ONLY to Foreign Construction Companies by overlooking qualified PNG Indigenous contractors. It has started with the NDB Wewak branch in East Sepik to be the first to undergo this new deve¬lopment with the construction of a modern two-storey building.

The National Development Bank (NDB) and its management needs to be mindful that not all Papua New Guineans are daft. This is open letter of rebuke to the Government and the directors of the National Development Bank and its management team regarding the recent awarding and signing of a K4.9m contract to build NDB bank office in Wewak by a foreign/Malaysian own Construction Company as reported in The National on Friday the 10th June 2011 .

Please correct me, Is this not the same National Development and people’s bank under the same management and executives that led and sponsored the Inaugural Indigenous Business Summit Kokopo a few months earlier and was calling for the PNG Indigenous businesses to increase their stake in the business ownership and participation in this country? How hypocritical can that be. Does NDB and its management think that the PNG owned construction and building companies are not capable of delivering a high quality and standard of building project for the bank? I certainly don’t think so. 

There are suitably qualified PNG SMEs construction companies that are more than capable to deliver twice the value of the proposed NDB office in Wewak and elsewhere. Important clients like this bank and other PNG corporate entities should have criteria in which projects of certain values below which only PNG own companies can bid. How naive and foolish can learned Papua New Guinean born and bred executives in organizations like this bank continue to say something sweet at one occasion and demonstrate otherwise when the situation demands.

In every well developed economies, priorities are given to build local organizations and businesses and in so doing, more jobs are created for the local economy, organization can build their competencies profile and capability and the money stays within the local economy and country. Can’t this bank or organization also do the same. Is the bank expecting to have a ship load of foreigners shipped here like we are doing in the logging and mining industries to undertake the entire construction work for the bank? Absolutely not. The skilled personal will be recruited from the province and paid a pittance by a foreign owned construction company.

This was/is the opportunity of the Bank as the client and sponsor to prove it genuineness to promote the construction capacity of PNG local contractors and even to the point of financing the local contractors to undertake this contract work. The bank and its management have proven through this project that that it was not serious when it sponsored and provided leadership for the much drummed up Indigenous Business Summit in Kokopo earlier this year.

Mr National Development Bank and the management, you have proven us the watching Papua New Guinean Construction Industry, citizens and other businesses what you really meant and said at the summit and printed on two national dailies as follows;

  • The bank and is management is not genuine in building PNG owned businesses and in this case the PNG construction and building companies.
  • The bank owned by the people of Papua New Guinea is only looking for its convenience in promoting its agenda and that of its management;
  • In Banking, there are no allies only Interests/profiteering.


It must be noted that the commitment of NDB to the businesses of this country is questionable unless it reverts to its awarding future building contracts to PNG Construction companies. It would be strongly recommended that all the other subsequent contracts for the NBD offices in Madang and Boroko must be awarded to qualified PNG Indigenous contracting companies under preferred national contractor list obtained from CSTB. 

Moreover foreign companies should and must not be allowed to bid for projects below the value of K10m. Any project over the value of K10m should have national joint venture arrangements with knowledge and skill transfer as key requirements enforceable by written contracts between parties if or should PNG contractors not have the capabilities. This obviously differs from civil engineering and building construction contracts and the criteria of bid value and capability should be relative.

It is well overdue the time when Papua New Guineans in position of responsibility and especially PNG institutions and especially the Financial Institutions overlooking the PNG capability to promote foreign interests. This must stop, especially now for the National Development Bank of this country. We can’t and must not remain silent and let this hypocritical practices continue. We would expect and want to see the participants of the PNG Indigenous Business Summit writing and summoning the NDB board and management and questions their decision to award the construction contract to a foreign company. All this Hypocrisy must stop.

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