Village court officials puzzled as wages remain unpaid

By TONY PALME
VILLAGE court officials from Jiwaka who have been serving since 1976 say they have not received allowances for almost four months now.
They fear that they may have been struck off the government payroll.
Ten of these officials, mostly senior magistrates, clerks, and deputy chairmen from North Waghi district, asked if the provincial authorities would confirm if their positions had been revoked.
They said that their appointments had been revoked and their positions given to others, formal notification should be given them and that they should hand over their roles properly.
The confused officials said they had seen some people who claimed to be performing duties in their positions and getting paid, which was very frustrating.
Senior clerk for Bung village court Clement Ngunts said he had been a court clerk for over 40 years and was very frustrated that he was put off the payroll without any termination notice or discussion with the officials.
Senior magistrates Miguel Emdi (Bung village court), Philip Jika (Anznimp village court), and deputy chairman of Tolu village court Peter Kamaneka asked Governor Dr William Tongamp and provincial administrator Michael Wandil to check if there were any recent appointments done.
“This is a very serious case of mistreatment for the faithful village court officials. We served our districts for 30 to 40 years.
“The provincial authorities must investigate this issue and resolve it in an amicable way,” they said.
The 10 said they were among 83 village court officials in Jiwaka who were affected.