By HARLYNE JOKU
ANY public servant who fails to appear before the Public Service Commission when summoned will now pay a fine of K1,000 instead of K200.
Rigo Lua, the commission’s newly-appointed chairman, said the K200 fine was “not helping the system”.
He said civil servants, heads of department and provincial administrators must be accountable.
Mr Lua also said that the commission must be given powers to enforce decisions if department heads and provincial administrators failed to implement them.
“Currently, this does not exist and some departmental heads and provincial administrators are taking advantage,” he said at a reception to mark his appointment at the Holiday Inn in Port Moresby yesterday.
Mr Lua said the commission was a constitutional office mandated to undertake important constitutional duties.
“It is a custodian of the check and balance system within the framework of the public administration system in the country.
“Its primary role is to review decisions of the administration, especially departmental heads and the provincial administrators affecting public servants and to continuously review State organisations.
“It has the responsibility to become involved in the appointment, suspension, termination and revocation of the departmental heads, provincial administrators and CEOs of various regulatory and statutory authorities,” he said.
Minister for Public Service Peter O'Neill said Mr Lua’s appointment was made on merit as he had served the commission for 17 years in various capacities.
He said that apart from that experience, Mr Lua also had legal qualifications and skills which “will make him a good chairman”.
He added that the Government valued the role of the commission within the public administration system and was mindful that it should be free from interference and influence.
Prior to joining the commission, Mr Lua was an academic.
The appointment of the chairman and commissioners is done by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Opposition leader, the Chief Ombudsman and the chairman of the Permanent Parliamentary Appointments Committee.
The other two members of the commission are Wewak General Hospital chief executive officer Dr Linda Tamsen and Dr Phillip Kereme, former head of the Office of Higher Education.