Project flaws criticised

By GYNNIE KERO
THE Special Parliamentary Committee on Public Sector Reform and Service Delivery has highlighted examples of project management failures in Port Moresby, which it says are a waste of public funds.
These include illegal parking or parking on footpaths, poor maintenance of traffic and pedestrian lights, piling up of rubbish and old wrecks in public areas.
Committee Chairman Elias Kapavore had earlier queried why there was no fencing to stop people running across the road instead of using the new overhead bridge outside Vision City.
“Was the bridge designed to provide business opportunities or as a road safety measure,” he said.
“Currently, it does not do the latter and therefore, is a gross waste of public money.”
Some of these issues featured by the committee were understood to have cost the Government millions of kina.
Head of secretariat Dr Bill Hamblin supported the idea of civil servants clocking in and out at work starting next year.
But he said civil servants should clock in and be productive instead of just sitting behind their desks.
“Secretary for Personnel Management John Kali said public servants will have to clock in and out next year. That’s good,” Hamblin said. “But once you get these public servants to work, they should do the work they are assigned to do and do it properly.”
Attempts to get comments from NCD Governor Powes Parkop in response to the committee’s findings were unsuccessful last night.