Court sets date to review decision

THE Waigani National Court has set Aug 3 to review the National Executive Council’s (NEC) decision to revoke Solomon Kantha’s appointment as the chief migration officer (CMO).
Judge Nicholas Miviri set the trial date yesterday after Kantha had sought a judicial review because NEC and Immigration and Border Security Minister Westly Nukundj had removed him on Dec 6, 2019, without notice.
Kantha, through his lawyer Brendan Lai, told the court that acting CMO Robert Kennedy’s three-month term had lapsed last week.
Earlier, Nukundj had said that NEC had revoked Kantha’s appointment as the CMO after discovering that his appointment on Nov 26, 2017, was illegal.
Nukundj said Kantha’s appointment was flawed because the Office of the State Solicitor had not given the legal clearance for the appointment citing serious flaws and omissions.
“There was no valid contract of employment between him and the State as his appointment was illegal because he was not on the shortlist of candidates recommended by the Ministerial Executive Appointment Committee at that time,’’ the minister said.
“Because of the breach in the appointment process under the annulled Public Service (Management) Act 2014 and the Regulatory Statutory Authorities (Appointment to Certain Offices) Act 2014 and its Regulations, the State Solicitor was unable to give legal clearance to the contract.
“The State Solicitor then advised the Government that the appointment be revoked and the position be re-advertised.”