New chief secretary for ABG

National

JOSEPH Nobetau from Buin in South Bougainville is the chief secretary of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG).
President Dr John Momis made the announcement after Nobetau’s appointment was finalised by the Bougainville senior appointments committee through the Bougainville executive council.
Nobetau has a distinguished career as a senior diplomat in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority as the chief immigrations officer.
“Mr Nobetau is a man of considerable integrity, with decisive leadership and a no-nonsense attitude. I look forward to working closely with him in advancing the interests of Bougainville and improving the effectiveness of the Bougainville public service,” Momis said.
Apart from the appointment of the ABG chief secretary, four new departmental heads were confirmed following a rigorous, transparent and merit-based process as required by law.
The newly confirmed departmental heads are, Brenda Tohiana, Secretary for Finance and Treasury, James Tanis, Secretary for Referendum, Veterans Affairs and Peace, Wesley Kenneth, Secretary for Community Government and Justin Kehatsin, Secretary for Education.
Momis said the new secretaries provided a mixture of experience and new blood and that they would play a critical role in delivering strong and effective governance for Bougainville.
“While I have confidence in the abilities of the new appointees, I want to make it clear to them that I, the ministers and all our fellow Bougainvilleans have high expectations,” Momis said.
“I have encouraged each minister to closely monitor the performance of their secretary and address issues of underperformance should they arise,” Momis added.
The chief secretary will assume his new role on Oct 17 while Tohiana, Kenneth and Tanis take up their appointments immediately with Kehatsin following suit at a later date.
This now leaves three departmental heads positions yet to be filled by a permanent appointee.