Former Health secretary named new ESP admin

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
FORMER Health Secretary Dr Clement Malau, pictured, has been appointed the provincial administrator of East Sepik.
Public Service Minister Elias Kapavore said Malau was appointed by the National Executive Council in its meeting this week.
“My department stands ready to support him and Governor Allan Bird in ensuring the smooth operations of the administrative function in East Sepik,” Kapavore said.
Malau was Health Secretary from 2007 to 2011.
He told The National that his contract had expired in 2011, although there was an option to extend it for one more term.
“As Secretary for Health, I led a team of Papua New Guineans to develop one of the best national plans in our region,” he said.
“The plan focuses on service delivery with a back-to-basics approach.
“It is aligned to the Government’s Vision 2050, the millennium development goals and is in compliant with the World Health Organisation and World Bank standards for health systems development.”
After his stint as Health Secretary, he took up a job with the World Health Organisation in Fiji.
“In 2014, I returned to PNG, leaving my permanent job with WHO in Fiji.”
His reason for leaving was the opportunity to start a second medical school for the country at the Divine Word University in Madang.
He said improvement in services to the people had been a focus of his work. He also served with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in Noumea and in Timor Leste.
On his new appointment, he said it was his “motivation to support East Sepik Governor Allan Bird in his aspirations to make a difference for the people of East Sepik”.