Minister for Defence Dr Billy Joseph has confirmed that the pay issue experienced by some PNGDF personnel last pay has been rectified.
He said last week’s payroll issues affected the salaries of 263 PNGDF personnel.
However this has been fixed and most personnel who bank with BSP have been fully paid a total amount of K201 323.63, remitted to their individual bank accounts.
Those banking with other banks will also be credited this week.
“I can confirm now that there is no lack of command and control in our military.
“I have instructed the Department of Defence to provide a report to me as to why all payroll files were not provided to Finance and for appropriate actions to be taken to prevent future recurrence of the same issue. A payroll audit will follow.”
“The welfare and wellbeing of our men and women in uniform is paramount and we are taking all the necessary steps to ensure this problem does not happen again. I thank the affected PNGDF personnel for respecting the rule of law and chain of command.
“And I also thank the Acting Commander of Defence Force Commodore Philip Polewara, Defence Secretary John Akipe, the branch heads and the respective commanding officers in the PNGDF.
“Furthermore, I acknowledge the Secretary for Finance and Secretary for Department of Personal Management and their respective team for rectifying the issue with urgency.”
The minister reiterated that PNGDF is a disciplined institution with a strict chain of command and any acts of ill-discipline within PNGDF will not be tolerated.
“We must always remember we are not a civilian organization with rights to protest or union powers. Any grievance must be channeled through the chain of command and we are here to address these issues,” Dr Billy said.