Court throws out reference

THE Supreme Court has dismissed a special reference by the Western Highlands provincial executive council (PEC) seeking an interpretation of the amended Public Service Management Act in relation to the appointment process of a provincial administrator.
A five-man bench chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi, Justice Les Gavara-Nanu, Justice Elenas Batari, Justice Derek Hartshorn and Justice Iova Geita ruled that there was no merit in continuing the case because it was misconceived.
The Western Highlands provincial executive had sought an interpretation of the particular amended provision with regards to the constitutionality of the powers of the PEC to reject a list from the Public Service Commission (PSC) when reading it together with section 73(2) of the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments (OLPLLG).
The reference relates to the appointment process of a provincial administrator (PA) and seeks to clarify the powers vested on the PEC, the National Executive Council (NEC) and the PSC when exercising their constitutional functions.
Matthew Tamutai, representing the Western Highlands provincial executive, said there was a time where there was a vacancy in the PA position and PEC refused to accept a list of persons presented by the PSC.
PSC then went directly to the NEC and an appointment was made.
Tamutai said they had no issue with the appointment process but on the selection criteria.
The court dismissed the reference and ordered parties to bear their own costs.