Subject:  Rex Paki's Professionalism Gives Bad name to Engan Up and coming Professionals |
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Disgusted Engan
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Date Posted: Tue, Nov 29 2005, 03:57:59pm
PAC gagged!
Court order violates independence of Parliament, says PAC
By ROBERT PALME
MEMBERS of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed anger yesterday when a court order was taken out to prevent them from inquiring into aspects of a report on the Public Curators Office which concerned Rex Paki and his company RAMS Business Consultants.
The report which the PAC was looking into was prepared by the Auditor General’s office.
Mr Paki took out the order, dated Nov 25, 2005, to gag the PAC, claiming he was not given enough time to respond to the report, and the summons to appear.
Angry members of the PAC learnt of the court order during a scheduled hearing in Parliament yesterday, and described it as an attempt by the judiciary to intrude into the work of the legislative arm of government. PAC chairman John Hickey and member Dr Alan Marat were visibly upset not only because of the order, but also because it was served on the PAC within the precincts of Parliament, apparently with little regard for parliamentary privilege and procedures.
PAC Secretariat officials said the person who delivered the order just escaped being arrested and charged for breaching parliamentary privilege and procedures. Mr Hickey said: “This committee does not consider that the National Court has any jurisdiction over its activity and has referred the matter to the legal advisors to dissolve the order forthwith this (Tuesday) morning.”
To Mr Paki, Mr Hickey said: “He thinks he can control Parliament.”
Dr Marat, a lawyer by profession, said the PAC was inquiring into the Public Curator’s Office, not into Rex Paki or his company, Ram Business Consultants. He said the committee has not received the order, and it takes it that it is not bound by any order. “It’s a very important point on the issue of the independence of the three arms of government. The PAC is a parliamentary committee and the order that you heard about is like ordering the Parliament not to conduct any inquiries into the Public Curator’s Office which is a proper function of the PAC.
“This committee feels that it has every right to proceed with the inquiry regardless of this order that is floating around somewhere,” Dr Marat said.
Officers of the PAC Secretariat said the order was served to the office when the session was already in progress in the B2 Conference Room in Parliament, and they had to advice members of the order. The PAC adjourned the inquiry to Feb 17, 2006. Before the inquiry adjourned, Mr Hickey said Mr Paki had communicated with him in writing on two occasions which he responded by saying the inquiry was specifically into the office of the Public Curator. He told the inquiry that Ram Business Consultant was appointed agent of the Public Curator some years back and a mention of this was contained in the report of the AG.
“I said to him that the committee will be willing for him to provide a reply to those areas of the report where Ram is objecting to.
“I than said to him that his response should be received by the committee before Thursday, 4pm, Nov 24, 2005. But Mr Paki has seen fit to go to court to seek orders. Those orders have not been served on us and at this stage we take those orders as absolute hearsay,” Mr Hickey said.
He said the Auditor General’s Office and his committee have advised Mr Paki and Ram Business Consultants to respond to the report or to be heard by the committee and that invitation remained open.
http://www.thenational.com.pg/1129/nation1.htm
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Mr. Paki has been on the news about many allegations (either proven or otherwise). It's appears to be a repeated trend and he as a professional is on the headlines for the wrong reasons again.
One would wonder if they've ever taken any dose of ethics, integrity and morality in so far as discharging of professional duties is concerned.
This doesn't help us, the up and coming Engan professionals in our bid to secure competitive job offers because there's a glaring stigma associated to the Enga name in the professional world.
Can we have some humility and do our job with respect for established laws of this land? These "get rich quick ploys" are not good for a better educated Engan community in all works of life in PNG and elsewhere.
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