WASDOK

WASDOK is a monthly publication, produced and edited by Bonner Tito and Heni Goro of the Ombudsman Commission Media Unit and approved by the Secretary to the Commission before release. ©

R E L E A S E D F O R J U N E 2 0 0 8 B Y T H E O M B U D S M A N C O M M I S S I O N O F P N G

Staff News—p.4 …………… Chief retires ( cont’d) P.4

CONTENT

SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO CHIEF OMBUDSMAN ILA GENO, OBE QPM

Many officers in the Com-mission have come to know the Chief Ombudsman and Members of the Commission through their respective du-ties which required daily contact for routine adminis-trative and management chores. The man many officers have come to know is no nonsense character because of his tough stance against corrup-tion in all walks of life. At one time he became the sub-ject of controversy because of his courageous efforts in maintaining the status quo in cases involving a number of prominent leaders. His ac-tions certainly were endured by the unique status of the

office he h e l d , which in-e v i t a b l y became the envy of many lead-ers in the tall poppy syndrome. He is best descr ibed as a person who pio-n e e r e d advocating good gov-e r n a n c e and Anti-Corruption phenome-non since his ap-pointment as Chief O m b u d s -

man of Papua New Guinea. Mr Ila Geno,

OBE QPM, the person to whom this tribute is attrib-uted, gracefully retired at midnight on Monday 30 June 2008 after serving the Independent State of Papua New Guinea for many years. As of 30 June 2008 Mr Geno will have served the Inde-pendent State of Papua New Guinea for 40 years, 24 years alone with the Royal Papua New Guinea Con-stabulary where the journey to success began. He made a short stint with the Public Services Commission before moving onto a very fragile environment in the Service of the Ombudsman Commis-sion of Papua New Guinea.

Mr Geno’s advocacy is highly esteemed. His coura-geous efforts were not only felt by citizens in all walks of life in both the public and civil society. Other high pro-file individuals and institu-tions in Papua New Guinea and throughout the Com-monwealth Ombudsman Regions have also shared the same sentiments. Karawa village in the Hood Lagoon area of the Central Province is where it all be-gan. He earned his early childhood education there and went onto secondary education at Sogeri in 1967. Mr Geno gained direct entry into the Royal PNG Con-stabulary in 1968 after com-pleting secondary education and matriculation studies at UPNG with a Diploma in Police Science. On the day of his exit from public office he will have left a legacy of service to the government and the people of Papua New Guinea, most of which was spent in the Police Force. Mr Geno is a fine example of rank and file promotion process according to his resume which set him from cadetship through mid-dle management to senior management and eventually hitting the top hierarchy as Police Commissioner. His wide management ex-perience earned him another top departmental head posi-tion as Chairman of the Pub-lic Services Commission in 1992 when his term as Police Commissioner expired in 1990. Girded with the acco-lade of public service experi-

ence with substantial knowl-edge of the disciplined force he became the hot contender for the position of Ombuds-man. After a short stint he was appointed Chief Om-budsman by the Ombudsman Appointments Committee; a position he has held until the announcement of his retire-ment last year which became effective on close of busi-ness Monday 30 June 2008. He would have liked to ex-tend his career path under the guise of a rather youthful facial feature, believe it or not, also boasting a firm up-right posture for a man who is about to reach his mid 60s. There is hardly any sign of aging to perhaps warrant his exit but the man has to suc-cumb to age restriction which is highly regrettable. The loss is to the detriment of people who have come to know him personally and professionally. But he doesn’t regret it one bit as numerous calls he has received so far all point to expression of interests and an array of job offers from high profile private sector institutions. Mr Geno has a lot of life still left in him and admits the job offers are so tantalising that he has to find time to settle his mind on these job offers. But he ad-mits that he has yet to decide on his next move. One of the most trying ex-periences during his tenure has been the case involving his referral to the Ombuds- Turn to p.4...

MOA strengthens oversight function

p.2 …………...

Eye within p. 2

Chief Ombudsman Ila Geno OBE QPM

Pacific Ombuds-man Network

News—p.3

Chief’s farewell in picture

P.5

P A G E 2 W A S D O K J U N E 2 0 0 8

In this edition of the Wasdok the Ombuds-man Commission fare-wells the Chief Ombuds-man Ila Geno. Mr Geno leaves the Commission after 7 years of service. He joined the Commis-sion on 21 December 1998 as an Ombudsman and was later appointed Chief Ombudsman on 1 January 2001. He was reappointed Chief Om-budsman following his retirement on 1 July 2003. We also feature high-lights from recent dis-cussions held between the Commonwealth Om-budsman of Australia

and the Ombudsman Commission of PNG to strengthen work rela-tions between the two ombudsman institutions. For the first time in the history of the two insti-tutions, the meeting was held via the video tele-conferencing, thanks to Margaret Thomas, Min-ister Counsel for AusAID for facilitating the conference. Also in this edition read all about the Police Complaints Ombuds-man. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Royal Papua New Guinea Con-stabulary and the Om-

budsman Commission. This now paves the way for a new legislation so that it has mandatory powers to enable the Police Force to conduct their own internal inves-tigations without fear or favour. The MOA was for a three year period, with the first MOA signed on June 1 2007 for a year. Chief’s farewell function at the Parliament House State Function Room was a great success. We commend organisers for a job well done! Editorial!

MOA STRENGTHENS OVERSIGHT ROLE

EYE WITHIN

The signing of the MOA for the Police Complaints Ombudsman between the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary and the Ombudsman Commission on Wednesday 11 June 2008, has set a new trend in corruption preventative practices in the disci-plined forces. The Police Commis-sioner, Gari Baki and the Chief Ombudsman, Ila Geno signed the 3 year agreement in a ceremony witnessed by senior offi-cials of the Constabulary and the Commission at the National Anti-Corruption and Fraud Directorate at Konedobu. Commissioner Baki, in his opening remarks ac-knowledge the police over-sight arrangement between the two organi-sations as it would go a long way in creating awareness about corrup-tion preventative meas-ures in the Police Force. He said the public per-ception that police were operating unchecked and often became master and bully as well as being the worst offender and abuser

‘public percep-tion that police are operating un-checked; often become master and bully as well as being the worst offender and abuser of human rights was a big concern that has to be addressed’

of human rights was a big concern for the Police Force that has to be ad-dressed. Mr Baki said the police oversight function will pave the way for the Po-lice Force to progress investigations into a num-ber of high profile cases which have not been ade-quately attended to or have died a natural death. He said no one was above the law, even police offi-cers and therefore the

enhancing of the Police Complaints Ombudsman will give life and mean-ing to the new corrupt prevention arrangement. The Commissioner said “the MOA this time is for three years during which a law will be drafted and formulated to strengthen or formalise this arrange-ment which currently exists under a MOA.” “Both Mr Geno and I are very committed to this MOA. We will ensure that our efforts are con-solidated to act on com-plaints against police and bring into life the pro-posed law governing the Police Complaints Om-budsman” He said. The Police Complaints Ombudsman is the fulfil-ment of recommendation 29 of the Police Review Report of 2004 pro-gressed by the former Police Minister, Bire Ki-misopa, which reviewed police operations amid growing public concerns about the ineffectiveness of the police and its wide-spread abuse of powers.

Police Comm.issioner Gari Baki and Chief Om-budsman Ila Geno sign oversight MOA

W A S D O K J U N E 2 0 0 8

Pacific Ombudsman Network News Update

P A G E 3

Extracts from the minutes of the meeting……. C o m m o n w e a l t h Ombudsman Prof. John McMillan praised the high level of success in the twinning pro-gram currently be-ing implemented in PNG. This was shown by the large range of activities shared between the Com-monwealth Ombudsman, the PNG Ombudsman Commission and Pacific Island Ombudsman. PNG Chief Ombudsman Ila Geno acknowledged the importance of video conferencing medium. He said it was a historic occasion, which brought together senior staff of two international Om-budsman agencies to re-view bilateral issues. He agreed that the twinning program was building stronger relationships and this would ultimately improve good govern-

ance and performance of public sector institutions. Mr. Geno noted the de-sire for greater exposure in Leadership Investiga-tions with other agencies such as the NSW ICAC and Qld Crime and Mis-conduct Commission. Prof John McMillan is-sued a standing invitation to Ombudsman Phoebe Sangetari to visit the Canberra office and left the responsibility to OCPNG to plan out the engagement with Dr Stephen Ranck from the Commonwealth Ombuds-man office in Canberra.

On other issues Om-budsman John Nero recommended that the Commonwealth Ombudsman and OCPNG now focus on taking the PNGDF on board. They too, are keen on partici-pating in similar ar-rangements with the Police Force.

Ombudsman Nero noted the desire for both institu-tions to appreciate cul-tural effects making an impression that Com-plaints Handling mecha-nisms were better off handled by respective disciplinary forces as they were better placed to handle their own prob-lems. As a result of Liaison Workshops PNGDF was pursuing for similar ar-rangement with the Po-lice Force while Correc-tional Services play an observers role. This has been agreed to by the Australian counterparts. Prof McMillan suggested that the Commonwealth Ombudsman support this work by hosting one officer from OCPNG to take up a short term placement program with the Commonwealth Om-budsman Defence team in Canberra. They are prepared to host the OCPNG officer and a PNG Defence Force rep-

resentative to a confer-ence in November 2008 or February 2009, to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Australian De-fence Force Ombuds-man role. In the area of future planning and activities the Complaints Man-agement System was currently being sup-ported by the New

Zealand Ombudsman. Pending further advice from OCPNG IT, techni-cal support may be re-quired from the Com-monwealth Ombudsman for data migration phase two. The Commonwealth Om-budsman is ready to as-sist and request that OCPNG provide Terms of Reference. The con-ference noted the recent signing of the new MOA between the Police Force and OCPNG. Common-wealth Ombudsman placement officer, David Ward’s contribution as the Law and Justice Sec-tor Program Advisor was also acknowledged. The Commonwealth Om-budsman has made an undertaking to provide support for placement officers. A placement officer from OCPNG Leadership Team is being earmarked for the Qld Crime and Misconduct Commission and the NSW ICAC.

TWINNING REVIEW AND PLANNING MEETING 30 May 2008

11.30 am to 1.00pm Via Video Conference

AusAID, Canberra & Deloitte Tower, Port Moresby

Supt John Maru making a point at the MOA signing

Live video teleconferenc-ing between CO Canberra

and OCPNG Deloitte Tower

P A G E 4 W A S D O K J U N E 2 0 0 8

Right— After eight years of service with the National Parliament as Human Resource and Training Officer Augustine Grimbai finally called it quits and joined the Commission. He is the new Human Resource Officer. Asked how he feels about his new appointment, Augustine says he finds his new role in OCPNG very exciting and challenging. He is of Madang and East Sepik par-entage but prefers Madang as his home province.

Left— Tapora Isorua has been engaged under an UNDP Special Human Rights project to work with the Commission as Consultant and currently attached to the Human Rights Unit. She is a Lawyer by profession and concurrently teaches law at the University of Papua New Guinea and providing consultancy services with the Commission. She hails from the Gulf province.

From page 1 man Appointments Com-mittee for alleged miscon-duct in office, he recalls. Soon after the publication of the allegations against him and following media queries he called a press conference and publicly denied the allegations. He openly told journalists that he was subject to public scrutiny and wel-comed investigations into his alleged misconduct. The allegations against the Chief Ombudsman inevitably brought the integrity of the Ombuds-man Commission into question. However, after all necessary investigative processes were completed the Prime Minister ad-vised Mr. Geno that he found no merit in the alle-gations against him much to the delight of the man many people have come to admire. In another situation, a case involving a PNG Defence Force armoury break-in was highly speculated by the media a couple of years back, pointed to alleged mutiny

by some renegade sol-diers. His advice to the Public Prosecutor and the Attorney-General were point blank. When the media speculated the pur-ported action to be taken by the appropriate au-thorities, prominent advo-cate the late Sir Anthony Siaguru in a media state-ment called him “straight

shooter”. Alluding to this and quite frankly he was chosen among several other dig-nitaries the recipient of the prestigious Anthony Siaguru Award in Decem-ber 2007, an award, ac-cording to Chairman of the Transparency Interna-tional PNG Mike Man-

ning, “is in recognition for his outstanding leader-ship in fighting corrup-tion. It is the first of its kind since the inception of TIPNG and established to honour individuals and organisations that have demonstrated exceptional courage and outstanding leadership in fighting corruption to mark the legacy of the esteemed founder Sir Anthony Siaguru”. Mr. Geno was stunned by the news and was lost for the appropriate words to express his appreciation. His remarks during the presentation were that he personally treasured the prestigious award as in-spiration to him to fight against corruption without fear or favour. He accepted it as some-thing meaningful and was the best ever he could aspire for since joining the Public Service life on 2nd February 1968. The award made his life and he would treasure it as long as he lives with de-termination. The MOC and staff wish you and your family well in the years ahead—EMAU!

Chief retires after 40 years of distinguished service

Chief gets a hug from an Executive staffer

All opinions, statements and writings contained in the Wasdok are those of the relevant authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions, statements, writ-ings or views of the Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea. The Commission issues no invita-tion to anyone to rely upon this newsletter and it in-tends by this statement to exclude liability for any such opinions, statements, writings and views.

Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea, Ground Floor, Deloitte Tower, Douglas Street, PO Box 1831, Port Moresby 121, NCD, PAPUA NEW GUINEA,

Phone: 675-308-2600 Fax: 675-320-3260, Email: ombudspng@ombudsman.gov.pg

Chief’s Farewell in Pictures

PAGE 5 JUNE 2008 WASDOK