The Office of the Public Service Minister has confirmed a total of 75 public servants under the Government’s Ascender payroll system have resigned to contest the 2022 National General Elections.
This excludes those public servants who were employed by other government agencies not on the Ascender payroll.
The 75 public servants have resigned before 28th of October, 2021, as per the Public Service Management (Amendment) Act 1995, the Department of Personnel Management Circular Instruction No. 27 of 2021, and the General Orders, which require public servants to resign six months prior to the issue of writs.
Public Service Minister, Hon. Joe Sungi said the Department of Personnel Management is working closely with Electoral Commission to monitor public servants who will contest the 2022 National General Election in light of the amendments to the PSMA Act.
Minister Sungi has confirmed the 75 public servants who have resigned, have been removed from payroll.
He said the Public Service Management Act is very clear and DPM will write to former public servants who will be contesting this year’s election, but have tendered their resignation as ‘normal resignation’ or after the 28th of October, 2021.
“If they think they will hide from the law, that’s where we will tighten DPM’s recruitment and selection process. It will be tightened to ensure public servants who have not followed due process to tender their resignations are not recruited back into public service”.
DPM has put in place a Technical Working Group, working in consultation with the Electoral Commission and the Office of Registrar of Political Parties.
The Technical Working Group has created a database for public servants who have resigned to contest the elections.
TWG will work closely with EC to obtain the nomination list to ascertain those who may have resigned in the eleventh hour, and those from the other government agencies, who are not on the Ascender payroll system, and have resigned to contest the 2022 National elections.
Parliament passed the amendment to the Public Service (Management) Act 1995, Section 55, which now require public servants to resigned 6 months prior to issue of writs and will only be eligible to re-enter the public service, if they lose the elections, after five years.
Minister Sungi said, it is a constitutional right of every citizen to contest, but as public servants, the need to observe the PSMA Act 1995 (as amended) and the General Orders is critical and urge Public Servants and officers of all State Authorities to ensure they abide by the law.
The Minister said, final entitlements of the 75 public servants will be done by their respective agencies and sent to DPM for verification and approval for Finance to pay them out.
Meanwhile, the DPM will issue a separate circular instruction to advice all agencies, on the engagement of public servants during the 2022 National General Elections.