Commitment to Excellence: PM Marape Assures Public Servants Full Refund
In a press conference held today, the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape addressed the concerns of public servants nationwide who collectively lost K7.3 million in payroll deductions last week. Assuring swift action and resolution, the Prime Minister declared that affected individuals would be fully refunded in the upcoming pay run scheduled for the following week.
The announcement follows a high-level meeting convened by Prime Minister Marape, involving suspended Finance Secretary Sam Penias, suspended Treasury Secretary Andrew Oaeke, and suspended Personnel Management Secretary Taies Sansan. Chief Secretary Ivan Pomalaeu and Justice and Attorney-General Secretary, Dr. Eric Kwa, who are leading an investigation into the payroll issue, were also present at the meeting.
In response to the public servants' predicament, Prime Minister Marape expressed regret over the unfortunate events that unfolded, including rioting, arson, and looting in the national capital by opportunists following the payroll discrepancies.
“The issue is being looked at in totality with detailed investigations into what took place,” he stated. “I want to assure our public servants that the K7.3 million that was taken out of their pay last week will be reimbursed in the second pay run of the year. This works out to about K60 per person, which is a benefit of the K20,000 non-tax threshold of the Pangu Pati-led Government.”
During the meeting, Prime Minister Marape queried the suspended secretaries about the implementation of the dependency rebate. He clarified that the dependency rebate had not been implemented yet and directed Treasury not to proceed until it is amended in the February session of Parliament.
“The problem was caused by the non-configuration of the K20,000 non-tax threshold reverting back to the earlier K12,500 non-tax threshold of the previous O’Neill government,” explained Prime Minister Marape.
Expressing his desire to identify those responsible for the configuration error, he emphasized that some officers, crucial to the input process, were absent during the critical period.
“I apologize to our hardworking public servants, including the Police, that some people went to sleep when Pay No. 1 of 2024 was supposed to have been paid according to the right Government policy,” he admitted. “Papua New Guineans must appreciate that no government, before our time, has lifted the non-tax threshold to K20,000, and also that not too many countries in the world do this. We did this because of the hard times our people are going through.”
As investigations continue, Prime Minister Marape reassured the public that corrective measures are being taken to prevent such incidents in the future and that the government remains committed to providing relief to its citizens during challenging times.
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