Govt to retain advisers: Pato

 FOREIGN Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato says the Government is not getting rid of foreign advisers in its agencies.

He was reacting to media reports that heads of departments and provincial administrators had been told to remove employees of foreign governments occupying technical advisory roles in the Government.

The instruction was issued by John Kali, the Department of Personnel Department Secretary, to the departments of Health, Education, Justice and Attorney-General, Prime Minister and the National Executive Committee, Foreign Affairs and National Planning.

Kali said this would come into effect from Jan 1.  

Pato, who is attending this week’s APEC summit in Manila with the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, said there was an ongoing review to ensure that the advisers were placed in positions where they were needed the most. “It’s a realignment of the activities to which some of the foreign advisers will be deployed,” he said. “There’s no intention to permanently stop the engagement of foreign advisers.”

Foreign advisers who are to remain are expected to report only to the PNG Government.