Dept embraces new structure as officers sign on

TWENTY senior officers have signed their three-year employment contracts in Port Moresby on Tuesday under the Defence Department’s new structure.
Secretary Hari John Akipe said these officers included the department’s deputy secretary, assistant secretaries and director nursing.
He said the signing of contracts certainty, security and provided a stable working environment.
Akipe also said the organisational structure, which became obsolete in 2012, created confusion amongst the officers. “We started work on the structure in 2020 which was approved by the Personnel Management Department (DPM).
“The recruitment and selection process involved two components; internal and external recruitments’ respectively.
DPM’s national agencies director Roselyn Wrakuavia has explained all powers to make appointments at the Defence Department lies with the Personnel Management Department secretary Tais Sansan.
“Due to a lot of non-compliance, the human resource powers were withdrawn from Defence Department and are now vested with the DPM secretary.”
Roselyn said this arrangement was based on the decision made by
the National Executive Council (NEC) to withdraw the powers back to DPM after an audit was conducted.
She said the functions still with the Defence Department were training and discipline.
She told the senior officers who signed their contracts: “Your employment is tied to the contract and it is performance based, it (contract) can be terminated due to lack of performance in the discretion and recommendation from the departmental head or agency.”
Akipe said the department has now completed 80 per cent of recruitment and selection with the remaining 20 per cent to be completed next month.