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ABG secretary removed

The Autonomous Bougainville Government has removed its Secretary for Department of Personnel Management and Administration, Paul Kebori after several allegations of misconduct were levelled against him.

Chief Secretary to the ABG, Joseph Nobetau said that on Wednesday, 24 May 2017, he delivered a petition to Mr President Momis, in his capacity as Chair of the Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee. 
“I asked that the allegations to be investigated and, if substantiated, that appropriate disciplinary action be taken against the officer concerned,” Mr Nobetau said.
Under the Bougainville Constitution and the Bougainville Senior Appointments Act 2014, responsibility for dealing with disciplinary matters involving constitutional and senior officers rests with the Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee. 
This is to ensure that the process is fair and impartial, and free of political interference. Where allegations of misconduct are raised against a senior officer, the Committee is required to follow strict procedures. 
If the Committee considers that the allegations should be investigated, it must appoint a board of inquiry to conduct the investigation and report back. If the board of inquiry is satisfied that misconduct has occurred, there are a range of punishment options available to the Committee, including removal from office.
“I understand that the Senior Appointments Committee has provided Mr Kebori with a copy of my petition, and invited him to the respond to the allegations against him,” Nobetau said. 
“This is the first step. Mr Kebori has not been suspended – there is no power to suspend at this stage – a senior officer can only be suspended by the Senior Appointments Committee once it decides to appoint a board of inquiry,” Nobetau added.
“People will be curious to know the details of the allegations set out in my petition, but it would not be fair to Mr Kebori for those details to be made public at this stage, the formal procedures should be allowed to take their course. It should be sufficient for me to say that I found the allegations very concerning, requiring me to take this action,” Nobetau said.
“As the Chief Secretary, I will not tolerate corruption and misconduct within the Bougainville Public Service. Bougainvilleans are entitled to expect the highest standards of integrity from their public servants,” he said.
Mr Nobetau has now made a call on any person with evidence of misconduct on the part of any public servant to come forward so that appropriate action can be taken in his efforts to rid the public service of corruption.

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