If O’Neill is serious about corruption he must protect whistleblowers like Dr Nadile
Prime Minister O’Neill’s vow to tackle corruption and the misuse of public monies is not going to bear any fruit unless the government moves to protect whistleblowers like Dr Rhona Nadile. Nadile has been sacked from the Department of Labour, where she was a senior officer, for exposing gross misappropriation and inappropriate use of trust funds..
One case involved the drawdown of K241,000 to cover the travel costs for Secretary George Vaso and his staff to travel to Fiji for an extended stay of 18 days to attend two conferences which were only for 8 days. Another case involved the use of K500,000 from the Work Permit Trust Account so a delegation could attend an ILO conference in Geneva.
“Enough is enough”, wrote Nadile in a memo to Vaso, “I have witnessed numerous occasions of gross misappropriation and inappropriate use of WPTA funds”.
As a result of her questioning of the payments Nadile was suspended from duty and charged with gross insubordination and has now been dismissed
Meanwhile a report outlining specific cases of abuse of funds have been given to new Minister for Labour, Martin Aini but he has failed to make any public statement on the matter.
George Vaso, who made the decision to charge, suspend and then sack Dr Nadile was himself appointed to his post by Peter O’Neill when he was Public Service Minister.
Prime Minister, Hon. Peter O’Neill and his government have taken bold steps in “Fighting Corruption” in the country and If the Prime Ministers turns a blind eye to Mr. George Vaso whom he appointed whilst he was the minister responsible for the appointment of Mr. Vaso in Somare led government then it will be like blind man leading the blind man. I am pretty sure Hon. Peter O’Neill has a government to run and George Vaso should face the gross misappropriation consequences which Peter O’Neill must always entertain.
New boss hits at allegations
By ALFRED KANINIBA
THE newly appointed Secretary for the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations George Vaso has hit back at claims his appointment was �improper� and that he was not a �fit and proper person�.
Some senior officers in the department, according to documents received by this paper, felt that the appointment of Mr Vaso to the position by the National Executive Council in May this year, was not in accordance with the guidelines set down by the NEC.
However, Mr Vaso, when contacted early this week, refuted the claims saying the allegations that were being circulated in the media were flawed and did not have any substance.
�I have the backing of the Minister Mark Maipakai, the National Executive Council and the Public Services Commission.
�And for malicious and unfounded allegations being circulated by a disgruntled former worker, it does put into question the integrity of the NEC, the PSC and the Minister,� Mr Vaso said.
However, he said, �I have been in the public service for more than 25 years and I understand how it works.
�The position for Secretary of the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations was advertised in the media, and I, like many others, applied.
�I was duly appointed after almost 12 months of our application being vetted,� he said.
Mr Vaso said the vetting process had to go through several processes.
�It is not as if you apply this week and in two weeks time you get appointed,� he said.
The documents alleged that Mr Vaso was terminated by his employer, the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations from the Public Service for alleged misappropriation of money belonging to the people of Papua New Guinea.
Mr Vaso was then the Chief Commissioner of Workers Compensation, administering workers compensation in Papua New Guinea when the alleged misappropriation took place.
It is understood the Minister for Labour and Industrial Relations Mr Maipakai was instrumental in this appointment.
According to the document, the Minister had fallen out with the incumbent Secretary David Tibu, a lawyer by profession who had advised against certain decisions intended by the Minister, which Mr Tibu considered unlawful.
Mr Tibu�s acting appointment as Secretary was revoked on May 20, the day the new appointment was �bulldozed� through by the Minister.
�My appointment as the incumbent secretary was not �bulldozed� by Minister Maipakai, as the documents being circulated are saying.
�These documents have no substance but are being circulated by a faceless person, are malicious lies about me and are an attempt to erode my professional integrity.
�I will be seeking legal advice from my lawyers on this matter before I take appropriate action,� Mr Vaso said.
Em bai toktok planti. Just investigate to get to the bottom of things. May be then he will not speak anymore.