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President Hon. Ishmael Toroama talks to the Bougainville public servants-senior managers

I am pleased to be here witness the signing of the 56 (fifty-six) senior management officers’ contracts. I want to congratulate you and at the same time share a few thought on the Bougainville Public Service. Today you formally pledge your commitment to the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the people of Bougainville. By signing these contracts, you are renewing your commitment to be the best you can be to serve the people. Moreover, you must stand in solidarity with the aspirations of our people in Bougainville. You will be occupying senior management positions within the Bougainville Public Service. These roles require you to innovative, to be considerate and to be accountable for every decision that you make. Your roles as public servants must be to translate the political vision of our government, the ABG, into tangible development that will secure Bougainville’s political future, and that is Independence. I urge you all to take this seriously. We do not have the time to procrastinate nor can we afford to continue to waste government resources on persons and ideals that cannot contribute to Bougainville’s progress. I urge you all to work with your leaders, your peers and your subordinates to ensure that the felt needs and aspirations of our people are being met, socially, economically and politically. This juncture presents me with an opportune time to share with you certain concerns I have had over the deployment of the Bougainville Public Service since its inception in 2014. It has become evident that public servants have become complacent and lazy to exercise their roles and responsibilities. Poor management and systematic corruption continues to plague the Bougainville Public Service. There is no consistency in the public service. Some public servants assume that they are a law unto themselves. The questionable actions by public servants have made people and the government lose trust in the Bougainville Public Service; a machinery that is designed to cater to the people’s felt needs and aspirations. Our complacency has forced us to contend with dishonesty, bribery and even something that is at times viewed to be miniscule; tardiness. As part of my Presidency’s six (6) point strategy to revitalize Bougainville; I make mention of Administrative Control. This is the time for us to reform and reinvigorate our administration into a lean and efficient entity whose sole purpose is service delivery for the people of Bougainville. We must be on the same page in Bougainville’s journey to independence and our focus is on nation building. Nation building is nothing without its public service, you are all at the frontline of nation building in Bougainville. So let us all, together as servants of the people work toward ending the rampant corruption and complacency that has been a dominant corporate culture within the Bougainville Public Service. I would like to encourage you that as public servants you must exhibit a modicum self-respect. The contracts you sign today bind you to the ABG so your conduct, professional and personal must adhere to ethical and moral standards. As senior managers you occupy positions of trust that you must maintain with respect, integrity and accountability. You are guided by your consciousness, and this is the very constant that must prevail to rationalize your character and the decisions you make as public servants. At the end the day you must find your purpose. Search your inner self for that purpose and you will not give in to temptation that causes corruption and complacency. This will guide you and shape your resolve hence giving you a sense of direction in executing your duties and responsibilities with dignity and integrity. Let me remind you all that Bougainville is at a very crucial time in its history and we need all hands on deck. I call upon your sense of duty and loyalty as you fulfill your roles as servants of the people. It’s time for us to be smart, committed, ethical and loyal public servants. Once again I congratulate the fifty-six senior management officers of the departments and directorates of the ABG Public Service. Thank you and God Bless us all. Hon. Ishmael Toroama President

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