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Civil Administration Reform – 2003

The status of public services remained a very important issue among Bougainville leaders. Bougainville leaders asked the relevant authorities to immediately deal with the “shattered state of the public service on the island” before the formation of Autonomous Bougainville Government. North Bougainville MP James Togel said, “only a minority of employees in the public sector were dedicated to their jobs; others were not and that was unfair to public servants in other provinces.”¹ Bougainville reportedly had more than 300 public servants; most of them were ghost names. However, shortly thereafter, the Bougainville Interim Government approved a reduction in the size of Bougainville public services.²

1. “Buka’s laid-back public service is annoying,” PNG Post-Courier, January 22, 2003.
2. “B’ville cuts back on cost, public servants to be retrenched,” PNG Post-Courier, January 24, 2003.