Public servants cut in first pay of 2024 totalled up to K7.3 million

The salary cut on thousands of governments paid workers in their first pay cheque of 2024 was over seven million Kina.

Prime Minister James Marape assured public servants nationwide, who collectively lost this amount in payroll deductions last week that government will refund them in the second pay for this year.

He made the announcement following a meeting with suspended department secretaries, Sam Penias [Finance}, Secretary Andrew Oaeke [Treasury] and Taies Sansan [Personnel Management] on Monday.  

The meeting was also attended by Chief Secretary Ivan Pomaleu and Justice and Attorney-General Secretary, Dr Eric Kwa.

Both are tasked to conduct investigation into the payroll issue that led to last Wednesday’s lawlessness in the nation’s capital.

“The issue is being looked at in totality with detailed investigations into what took place.” Mr Marape said.  

HEALDINE: Dependency rebate tax law to be brought back to Parliament: PM Marape

The prime minister said the suspended secretaries confirmed that the dependency tax rebate was not the cause of the public servants pay cuts.

“This dependency rebate has not been implemented as yet, and I directed Treasury [Department] not to implement it until it is amended in the February session of Parliament,” Mr Marape said.

“The problem was caused by the non-configuration of the K20,000 non-tax threshold reverting back to the earlier K12,500 non-tax threshold of the previous O’Neill government.”

Prime Minister Marape expressed his desire to identify the individuals responsible for the configuration of the tax.

“There were officers who were supposed to input that but were not at work at the time of the first pay run.

“The irony of this whole tragic incident is that we were supposed to have given benefits to our public servants; however, we were hit in the face.”