Committee’s return welcomed

IALIBU-Pangia MP Peter O’Neill says there has been a lack of leadership since the dissolution of the Central Agencies Coordination Committee (CACC) and welcomes the decision to bring it back.
“Too many times we’ve come up with the decision to change things too quickly without thinking it through. We have too many smart people, let us test some of these ideas before we get rid of them by implementing them so that they can work for the good of the country,” he said.
He made the statements during a debate of the amended Public Services Management Bill 2022 and commended the Government for re-establishing the committee, saying that it was very courageous to admit that they made a wrong decision.
“In 2019 we repealed this particular position because there was an outcry by some of our leaders that this position shouldn’t be centralised,” O’Neill said.
“Having a centralised agency, CACC, is something that can hold the public service to account.
“In recent times we’ve seen heads of departments doing their own thing and undermining the authority of the ministers and not working together,” he said.
He believed that the decision to bring back the committee and chief secretary position would stabilise the public service mercenary, so that it could continue to be accountable and be able to deliver to the nation.
“It is an implementing agency and as such must be stable and accountable. Budgets being blown out of proportion is because there is a lack of leadership at the public service level,” he said.
“The recent undisciplined behaviour by some of our department heads; someone needs to discipline them, pull them in line and get them to focus on their core business of running the department,” he added.
He pointed out that government departments were not functioning because they had become their own bosses, not listening to policy directions of their own government.
“It is a timely intervention, especially when starting a new term of parliament and when you bring your budget together, they must stay within the discipline of what the government’s policy framework is,” O’Neill said.
He said the chief secretary was a key position and if there was no consensus about the person occupying the role, by all means change the person but not abolish the role.