Changes sees end to Chief Sec’s office

The National National

THE office of the Chief Secretary has been abolished after Parliament passed amendments to the Prime Minister and National Executive Council (PM & NEC) Act 2002 yesterday.
Parliament also passed by voice the Public Services (Management) Act 1995 to provide the secretary for the Department of PM&NEC to collaborate with the secretary for the Department of Personnel Management to implement the performance management systems.
Prime Minister James Marape, when presenting the Bills in Parliament yesterday, said the chief secretary’s position seemed to have become too powerful.
He said because of that, it was causing bad relationships between ministers and departmental heads.
“That position has been recognised to have too much power with the potential to undermine the fundamental constitutional relationships between ministers and their agency heads,” he said.
“Therefore, after extensive debate at the political and at the bureaucratic levels, the decision has been made to recommend to the Parliament that the time has come to abolish the position of chief secretary.
“(It is time) to re-classify it to the normal head to be called the secretary of the PM&NEC.
“We must protect the constitutional relationship between our ministers and their agency heads.
“This conclusion was also reached by the Sir Brown Bai Committee in a report to NEC of 2010.”
Marape said another amendment in the bill provided that the secretary for the Department of PM&NEC would collaborate with the secretary for the Department of Personnel Management in implementing the performance management systems.

5 comments

  • About time too, just a duplication of roles. we already have Dept Secretaries, agencies heads, Even PNNEC has a secretary, what is the role and function of a Chief Secretary?????? Talking about salaries/wages increases every year is because of such lucrative high profile positions in government created for doing the same roles.
    thank you PM Marape, start checking other positions as well and cut them out.

  • Another bold step is taken to rectify an anomaly that has permeated the governance system, salute to PMJM!

  • I would be give a big applause to PMJM for his remarkable history in cutting the edge of excessive funding frugality and constrained the fund that should be used for other purposes.
    I Salute PM for chief SEC’s position and profile position who looks haughty to other deartmantal secretaries to be abolished.
    SERVE. THOSE PEOPLE ARE IN DIRE NEED TOO

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