Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee removes Kebori
President Chief Dr John Momis has released a statement on the removal of Mr Paul Kebori from the Public Service this afternoon.
Paul Kebori’s appointment as Secretary for Personnel Management and Administrative Services has been terminated with immediate effect, Mr Momis said.
The Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee removed Mr Kebori from office following receipt of the report of the board of inquiry convened late last year under the provisions of the Bougainville Senior Appointments Act.
The independent board of inquiry was established to investigate 4 separate misconduct allegations against Mr Kebori raised by the Chief Secretary, Joseph Nobetau. The board of inquiry, comprising Chief Ila Geno GCL OBE QPM MSC, found 3 of the 4 allegations proven and recommended Mr Kebori’s removal from office.
Chief Ila Geno is a former Chief Ombudsman, Chair of the Public Services Commission and Commissioner of Police. He is an individual of great integrity and very highly respected throughout Papua New Guinea.
The board of inquiry found that Mr Kebori, as Acting Chief Secretary and as Secretary for Personnel Management and Administrative Services:
a. Received housing allowance and vehicle allowance payments to which he was not entitled;
b. Breached several of the terms and conditions of his appointment, including:
i. Failing to declare conflicts of interest with respect to vehicle hire and his wife’s business
ii. Approving payments that were not his responsibility to approve and other breaches of the Public Finance Act
iii. Falining to seek prior approval for official travel and
iv. Failing to acquit travel allowances received over a 5 month period
c. Defied a direction from the Chief Secretary regarding his return from leave.
The board of inquiry found a further allegation, that Mr Kebori had approved payment of excessive salaries and allowances to certain public servants had not been proven.
I am saddened by the fact that Mr Kebori, with his considerable experience, who has contributed a great deal to public life in Bougainville over many years, has let himself down through his failure to adhere to the high standards we expect our public servants.
In delivering the report of the board of inquiry, Chief Ila Geno reminded the Committee of the following quote from the Constitutional Planning Committee, when discussing leadership:
- In his public office, a leader’s first responsibility is to the people he (or she) represents, or on whose behalf he is working. This responsibility must override self-interest. A leader’s first loyalty must be to his office, not to himself. The higher the office held in the state, the more serious the office holder’s responsibility.
The Senior Appointments Committee has directed that steps to recruit a new Secretary for Personnel Management and Administrative Services commence immediately. We will be looking for a person of the utmost integrity, who will ensure that the interests of Bougainville and all Bougainvilleans come first.
The Committee expressed its sincere gratitude to Chief Ila Geno for having accepted its invitation to handle this difficult and sensitive matter and commended him on the thoroughness his investigation.
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