February 2023 – Public Services Commission PNG

21Feb, 2023

PSC PRESENTS K350,000 CHEQUE TO WAKO LANDOWNER BUSINESS INC.

The Chairman of the Public Services Commission Mr. Apeo Fuata Sione, LM, M. PP yesterday presented a cheque for K350,000. 00 to the Wako Landowner Business Incorporated Group of Mt. Hagen, Western Highlands Province in a ceremony held at the PSC office in Waigani.

The Wako Landowner Business Inc. is the landowner group of Portion 721 in Kagamuga where PSC is currently building its first regional office.

Principal Landowners Mr. Willie Wananga and Mr. Joe Las Wananga of the Yamaka tribe were on hand to receive the cheque and thanked PSC for assisting them to finally receive their land award after waiting for almost 40 years.

“That is our customary land, and our forefathers in their wisdom gave the land on which Portion 721 is also located to the State for infrastructure to be built. So, when they gave that land, the State was supposed to present a land award as a form of appreciation, but that never happened. Our forefathers have followed up on this award for 40 years and many have already passed on, and still, nothing has been forthcoming from the State. When the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) planned to build their office on our land, we raised our grievance with IPA and they went out of their way to help us from which K46,000. 00 was released but the balance is still outstanding”, explained Mr. Willie Wananga.

Mr. Wananga added that when he heard that another government entity was going to build on their land they were frustrated and raised this grievance with the Secretary of the PSC Secretariat Mr. Terence Tupi who was on-site at the time, and Mr. Tupi was very cordial and empathetic and advised them that PSC will take this onboard and assist them.

“The kind assistance from PSC has now seen the landowner group receive this payment today and I want to thank the Chairman, Commissioners, Secretary, and the PSC for their invaluable assistance so that now we see a part payment from the State”, said Mr. Wananga.

PSC Secretary, Mr. Terence Tupi further elaborated that the award was for K700, 000.00 + 50% interest which was to be paid to the landowner group when they gave up their customary land to the State. He said when the Yamaka tribe brought their grievances to PSC whilst he was on site in Mt Hagen, he raised this issue with the PSC Steering Committee which is made up of various government stakeholders in December 2022 and was advised to pay K350, 000.00 from the PSC’s PIP project funds whilst the outstanding balance will be settled by the State through the Department of Finance. This is so that the construction of the PSC office will proceed without any obstacles.

Meantime, the construction of the PSC office in Mt. Hagen is expected to be completed by the end of March 2023.

21Feb, 2023

2022 CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX LAUNCHED

BY NADIA. MARAI

The Transparency International PNG released the results of the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) last week Tuesday (31/01/2022) in line with uplifting the global embargo.

The CPI is a survey that scores countries and territories around the world based on perceptions of public sector corruption. The scores reflect views of the experts and surveys from business people, not the public.

The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index scored Papua New Guinea a low 30 out of 100,highlighting a stagnation in the government’s efforts in clamping down on public sector corruption. While there have been positive developments, unfortunately these have largely been isolated and have not been fully implemented and as a result minimizing their impact and effectiveness.

In launching the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, TIPNG Board Chair Peter Aitsi said, ‘’Political leaders must recognize the dire threat that corruption poses to national and international peace and security, and must make anti-corruption efforts an integral focus of foreign and domestic policy by prioritizing transparency which will enable proper oversight and enable meaningful engagement of civil society in scrutinizing the use of public funds.’’

Among other organizations which included the Interim Commission Against Corruption, the Public Services Commission as an office of integrity attended as well showing it’s support to combating corruption in PNG.

The Public Services Commission (PSC) is serious about its Anti-corruption stance; therefore, we have aligned ourselves to other institutions of integrity who are promoters of good governance and are at the forefront in the fight against corruption. Organizations like TIPNG, ICAC and Ombudsmen Commission among other institutions of integrity.

PSC in partnership with the Transparency International (TIPNG) successfully launched its agency level Anti-Corruption & Integrity Strategy last year in doing its part to combat corruption.

TIPNG Board Chair Peter Aitsi speaking at the launch.

21Feb, 2023

PSC LAUNCHES ITS CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

BY PSC MEDIA

The Public Services Commission in partnership with European Union of Papua New Guinea has launched its Case Management System. The European Union (EU) has stepped in as a development partner to provide technical and financial support to the Public Services Commission to develop its Case Management System(CMS) at a cost of over K1 million.

The Case Management System is an online digital system developed particularly for workflow processes within the Public Services Commission to eliminate the excessive usage of paper work to enhance work based performance and improve time management. The CMS also ensures that all officers within the organization involved in the resolution of a case or workflow can also easily access information and communicate with each other through a single interface.

The EU PNGPSC MOA was signed in 2020 and the CMS project was tendered by the EU and the successful bidder was scheduled to start work in March 2020. However, the effect of the Civid-19 pandemic, that forced the world into a total lock down, also further postponed the project to March of 2021.Through meaningful consultations by both the PSC and the EU, recently saw the launch of PSC’s first Case Management System.

‘’The Public Services Commission (PSC) in line with the ongoing Public Services Reform has made some important administrative decisions to make changes in the way it manages its core functions , that is, Review of Personnel Matters, Investigations and the Merit Based Appointment Process. One such decision was made some years back and that was to manage its core functions with the use of digital platforms to keep pace with the changing times in the 21st Century. The Commission was of the view that change in an organization leads to many positive aspects-that lead to retaining a competitive edge and also remaining relevant to keep pace with the changing times. Change encourages innovation, develops skills, develops staff and leads to better business opportunities, and improves staff morale. ’Says Mr Apeo Sione Chairman PSC.

‘’The need to make PSC services more efficient was due to years of backlogs of workloads, at times poor quality work output from officers and the times managements inability t properly manage all workflows in their respective divisions, These and others were number of issues affecting PSC that created an impetus for a greater use of available technology. And one of the best ways to address these issues was to adopt the Case Management System’’.

Chairman Sione further thanked the European Union for its technical and financial support and is committed to ensuring the system is implement to increase productivity and work efficiently in PSC.