MRA ends four-year board vacancy as new directors take office

The Mineral Resources Authority [MRA] has ended a four-year governance vacuum following the swearing-in of its newly appointed board of directors in Port Moresby on Tuesday.

The new board, led by corporate leader John Tuaim as chairman, takes office at a critical juncture as the regulatory body prepares to oversee institutional transitions and guide the country's multi-billion-kina mining sector forward.

MRA Acting Managing Director Harry Kore welcomed the appointments, stating that the return of a functioning board restores essential institutional mechanisms that underpin accountability, continuity, and strategic discipline.

"For over four years, the absence of a functioning board has left a critical governance gap within one of Papua New Guinea's most important regulatory institutions," Kore said.

"While management has continued to carry out its responsibilities, good governance practice reminds us that management execution and board oversight are not interchangeable. They are complementary pillars of institutional strength. One cannot fully substitute the other."

Kore said the board is being re-established at a time when the MRA is undergoing a major structural transition. Under National Executive Council [NEC] Decision No. 240 of 2025, the former Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazard Management is currently being merged into the MRA to streamline policy and regulatory functions.

Additionally, the authority is advancing towards ISO 27001 accreditation and the full digitization of its regulatory procedures.

"Strong systems require strong governance, accreditation requires accountability, and institutional trust requires both. If people don't trust us, we have a problem," Kore said.

He said the board is taked to restore strategic stewardship, strengthen compliance oversight, and reinforce investor and landowner confidence.

Mining Minister Solen Loifa, who witnessed the swearing-in ceremony, challenged the new leadership team to deliver immediate results, saying that the government expects active leadership rather than passive title-holders.

"The country and the organization require your technical expertise, your skills, and your leadership role in providing strategic direction," Minister Loifa said.

"It’s not just sitting on a board and carrying a title. You have to deliver. Now is the time that we can set the new direction under your leadership, regulate the industry, and build the MRA into one of the model organizations in the country."

In response, newly appointed Chairman John Tuaim assured the ministry that the board's role would be strictly focused on high-level strategy, transparency, and accountability, without interfering in day-to-day management operations.

"We set the strategies at the top level and we expect the management team to drive it. We are not here to replicate anything; we are here to provide direction," Tuaim said.

"This country depends on extractive industries, and for an authority this important to be without a board for four years is not good enough. We need to regulate this industry better than we have been because it is a vital contributor to this nation. We are dealing with a private sector that is well-equipped, well-resourced, and well-financed. We need to match that, or become better, to regulate it effectively."

The newly constituted board consists of Mr. Tuaim, Kore, and Jude Tukuilye as directors, while Donald Hehona, Stephen Nukuitu, and Roger Kara were sworn in as alternate directors.

The board is scheduled to convene this Friday for its inaugural meeting to conduct its first discussions on the MRA’s budget.