By Sharon Engnui
Over 100 public servants who have served in Western Highlands Province for years have raised their concerns earlier this week, stating that the recruitment process is biased and driven by political interference.
Former Provincial Administrator Stanley Maip said that public servants are the hard-working people who put their efforts and skills to ensure developments take place.
“Politicians must not take public servants as politicians, they do not play active roles in politics in Papua New Guinea, all public servants must be loyal to the government of the day, he said.
Mr Maip said affected officers, ranging from executive managers to support staff across the provincial administration and four district offices, held a press conference to voice their concerns last Friday.
He said he was disappointed by what he saw as unprecedented political interference.
Mr Maip said this was the first-time politics had interfered in the recruitment of public servants in the province.
He said public servants are not politicians, they are servants of the people, working to carry out the policies of the government of the day.
“The public service commission must see what is happening in the public service through out the country as it is their role to ensure qualified people are appointed so the services are delivered to the people,” Maip said.
He has expressed frustration at being sidelined after years of loyal service, stating that the public service commission must step in and see what is happening.
Maip said, with 374 total public servants in Western Highlands Province, this controversy affects more than a quarter of the workforce responsible for delivering government services to the people of Western Highlands Province effectively.
In response to their concern, Western Highlands Governor Wai Rapa clarified that the appointment of public servants within the administration is entirely separate from the political wing of the government.
He emphasized that these appointments were made through a stringent process involving various government departments, including the Department of Personnel Management.
“We are partly implementing the processes by the public service commission and the personnel management.”
Governor Rapa outlined that the appointment structure dates back to 2019, when he served as Deputy Governor.
He added that the implementation of this structure was originally planned under the previous government when the then-Deputy Administrator was Stanley Maip.
