Public service drains K7bil from public coffer: Lupari

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
THE total cost of operating the civil service can be as high as K7 billion a year and taxpayers should be asking whether they are getting a fair return for that investment, says Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari, pictured.
He told the Public Sector Reform Awareness workshop in Port Moresby, which was attended by heads of departments and agencies, that the public service was too big, with almost K4 billion alone spent on wages and salaries annually.
“We are too big and too costly,” he said. “We have duplications of organisations everywhere. The public service is a monster. We have about 150,000 public servants on the payroll.
“Sometimes I ask if the people are getting returns from this investment of K4 billion. Sometimes it is very hard to know if the public services are been provided at the national and provincial levels.
“K4 billion just for wages and salaries. But if you put together our operation and recurrent costs, we are looking at almost K6 billion to K7 billion annually for some other expenses consumed by public servants.
“So as leaders of this nation we have the right to know the return on the K7 billion consumed by the public servants.”
Lupari said managers at times were not serious about their work.
“Regardless of whether we are working or not, the pay is guaranteed because every Government fortnight, we get paid,” he said. “Sometimes I wonder myself, am I serving the people who are paying me? What are the things that I have to do to make sure that that I earn that salary and Government vehicle.”