Why Maze continues to serve public

By PETER ESILA
AFTER he dropped out of school at Grade 10, Maze Magar refused to give up on his education.
“I reached only Grade 10 but I made my way up. I did my matriculations at the University of PNG before going into journalism.”
He then completed Diploma in Public Administration and Diploma in Economic Policy Analysis courses at the National Research Institute, before graduating with a Diploma in Business Management in New Zealand.
He is from Kulalae village in South Fly, Western.
Maze, 66, has seven children and adopted a eighth one. He has 11 grandchildren.
“I lost my first daughter in 2012. And after that, my wife also passed away.”
In 2015, he retired from the National Judicial Staff Services as a human resource manager after spending 38 years there.
He recently came out of retirement to help in teaching women financial literacy. He works with the Oshoma Business Institute in Port Moresby training people under the Moresby North East electorate micro, small-medium enterprise (MSME) programme.
“I had retired as a public servant and returned home. I was happy in the village. But I missed my children and grandchildren in Port Moresby. So I decided to come back to Port Moresby.”
When he came back, all his children were looking after themselves. So Maze decided to look for a job.
“I joined the MSME programme to provide women with financial training.”

“ I reached only Grade 10 but I made my way up. I did my matriculations at the University of PNG before going into journalism.”

It is somewhat different to what he was doing before.
“I tell my students (at the SME programme) that I am a corporate trainer. But training here has been quite difficult because most of the mothers fall under the adult learners’ category.
“In the public service, I was involved in training not only for national judicial services staff nationwide but also police officers, soldiers and prison officers. We all come under the law and justice sector.”
Maze started as a journalist with the Wantok Niuspaper in 1978 before he joined Parliament in 1982 as a reporter.
Around that time, the provincial government system had just been introduced, so they sent him to Wewak to fix the government system there.
“I worked in Wewak for about five years fixing the system. Then I went to Kerema and did the same thing.”
While in Kerema in 1991, he applied for the position of assistant secretary magisterial service. He was accepted and joined the then Magisterial Service as an assistant secretary in 1991.
Then in 1994, the National Court, Supreme Court and the Magisterial Service merged under one administration. His position as assistant secretary magisterial services was absorbed into the administration.
He was appointed the project manager working on capacity building for three years before he was appointed the events manager.
“They then put me into training. That was my turning point.”
He was appointed human resource manager in the late 90s and held onto that position until he retired in 2015.
“I went home to the village and lived there. But I could not stay much longer because I was missing my children.”
He and his late wife had raised all their children and grandchildren in Port Moresby.
Maze believes that hard work and dedication had been his strength throughout his career.
“In everything I did, I always get promoted.”
And Maze’s passion for public service continues.