Preliminary work has already been carried out with further options and strategies being explored on how best this reform can be achieved.
The merging of Government agencies with duplicate functions has made little progress since the first four mergers were agreed to in the 2013 National Budget. In 2014 a further three mergers were agreed too.
In 2016 The Public Sector Reform Working Group (PSRWG) consisting of the Departments of Personnel Management, Treasury, and Prime Minister and NEC, further progressed this by identifying additional agencies for possible merging.
The PSRWG will continue this in 2017 and examine the potential for co-location of agencies and merging corporate service areas.
Below is a table of the proposed mergers.
Agency |
Merged Into |
Public Service Commission |
Department of Personnel Management |
Office of Tourism & Culture and Arts |
Tourism Promotion Authority |
Department of Implementation and Rural Development |
Department of National Planning and Monitoring |
Coastal Fisheries Development Agencies |
National Fisheries Authority |
National Economic Fiscal Commission |
Department of Treasury |
National AIDS Council Secretariat |
Department of Health |
National Coordination Office of Bougainville Affairs (NCOBA) |
PM & NEC |
Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) |
Finance ICT Division |
National Tripartite Consultative Council (NTCC) |
Department of Labour & Industry Relation (DLIR) |
National Narcotics Bureau |
Department of Justice & Attorney General (DJAG) |
Cocoa Coconut Industry |
Kokonas Industri Koporation (KIK) & Cocoa Board |
Office of Urbanization |
Department of Lands |
Border Development Authority (BDA) |
Department of National Planning & Monitoring (DNPM), Treasury and Department of Provincial Affairs (DPLGA) |
Department of Public Enterprises |
Department of Treasury |
PNG Science Secretariat |
Department of Higher Education Science and Technology (DHERST) |
Source: Department of Treasury (2017 National Budget, Volume 1, Economic & Development Policies)
Picture credit: 2017 National Budget Press Lockup (Loop file photo)