Manus Provincial Administration

Paso Pohei, the Deputy Administrator for Economic and Technical Service in the Manus Provincial Administration was arrested by members of the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate in Manus on Wednesday.

The 55-year old from Buyang village in the Tetidu LLG was arrested following complaints from the provincial administration to police.

Pohei was later released on K1,000 police bail. He is expected to appear at the Lorengau Committal Court next week Wednesday.

80 provincial administration officers from 16 divisions at the Manus Provincial Administration office are currently carrying out awareness to educate the communities in the province.

The 16 divisions include planning, environment, education, health, commerce, tourism, technical services, community development, forestry and fisheries.

The awareness is on their roles and functions at the provincial administration office.

Mbuke Ward Councilor Selarn Kaluwin said this is the first time the officials have visited the people to carry out awareness.

The new Bank Soft system was provided under the partnership between the Manus Provincial Administration and Australian Government, which supports the extension of banking and financial services to the rural majority.

About 8000 Manus locals have seen their savings grow following the introduction of the new system. They include about 5000 village finance members, who pool their savings in shared village accounts, and about 3000 individual account holders.