By Anthony Kaybing

The Autonomous Bougainville Government is encouraging a culture of accountability from the Ministers and Members of the ABG right down to the public service.

ABG President Chief Dr John Momis made the remarks during the launch of the Public Service last week.

“We must develop a culture that promotes excellence, rewards success and penalises those that do the wrong thing,” Momis said.

“I can no longer tolerate stories of corruption and fraud and I intend to take action to convene an Inquiry to investigate the many allegations that have been raised,” he added.

He also made it clear that the outcomes of this investigation will not be treated lightly – those found to have done wrong, no matter how senior or junior, will suffer the full weight of the law.

“Enough is enough – things have to change. If they do not, then we are only destined for failure,” Momis said.

Momis has also instructed the ABG Chief Secretary, Joseph Nobetau to take all necessary actions to address gaps in service delivery and inefficiencies in the public service.

The Chief Secretary on his part has been briefing regularly on issues that arise as a result of this drive to curb corruption.

“The Chief Secretary’s primary aim is to enhance the professionalism of our public service and to ensure that our senior leaders step up and take charge of their respective responsibilities. This has to happen if we are to change,” Momis remarked.

The ABG Corporate Plans provide a roadmap of what agencies expect to achieve. They are key accountability documents that will allow the government to demonstrate the work that it does.

The corporate plans will be backed up by effective reporting and monitoring and this, in turn, must be linked to performance expectations of all public servants.

“I have therefore instructed the Chief Secretary to progress a new performance management framework so that this evaluation can occur,” Momis stated.

The President said that accountability does not, however, extend only to the public servants, it also applies equally to our Ministers and Members of Parliament.

“Let me be clear that the standards and expectations that I have of our public servants apply equally to our elected leaders,” Momis added.

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