Dept staff are ‘lowly paid’

National

COMMUNITY development officers in the provinces are among some of the lowly paid, Central provincial administrator Gei Guni Raga says.
Raga, during persons with disabilities survey-data collection training of trainers’ workshop this week, said the remuneration package for community development staff was low.
While acknowledging the department for the work it was doing in the communities, Raga said the officers who were responsible for the programme were not properly taken care of in terms of salaries and remuneration.
Community development is one of the least talked about divisions in the provinces.
“You promote so many good things in the communities and Local Level Governments but the package offered is not the kind that is good enough for people to apply and look after the persons with disabilities,” Raga said.
“The officers that supposed to be out there carrying out all these things are not well looked after, why can’t we through Department of Personnel Management register this so they don’t see us as just another organisation.’
Community Development and Religion Secretary Anna Solomon confirmed that the structure for community development officers in the provinces and districts showed that they were some of the lowest paid officers.
“We will work together to improve the grading on the structures. I will need all the agency heads, including departments of provincial and local level government affairs and personnel management to work together on the structure.
“I am not in charge of government structures when it comes to public service but I can only push and suggest and you all will have to help me,” Solomon said.