Officers do not need second jobs

LET us stop making excuses for our police personnel engaged in private security arrangements or in providing private security escorts outside of their normal policing duties.
I appreciate N. Waiyo’s comments in The National (Oct 28) but we have had two pay increases since 2006, making us the highest paid public servants in Papua New Guinea.
A constable’s gross salary is about K600 per fortnight.
After tax, the constable is left with a reasonable net pay, as compared to other public servants, considering most policemen or women do not have to rent accommodation, pay for water and sewage, electricity, garbage and transportation to and from work.
Members of the constabulary also have reasonable working hours spaced in with ample time-off.
We are a privileged group of people.
Greed and mismanagement of personal finances are the real reasons behind members of the constabulary taking up second jobs.
It has nothing to do with pay and conditions.
The two pay increases we have had were performance driven, meaning we were expected to improve our performance and level of delivery of policing services to the public at large.
Sadly, the perception is that we have not lived up to our end of the agreement.
The bottom line is we must earn our pay rise.
There is no excuse for non-performance and no reason to take on a second job.

Gari L. Baki
Port Moresby