DPM cautions parliamentary committee

By MATTHEW VARI

Wednesday, February 11, 2015 (Midweek Chronicle, PNG)

DEPARTMENT of Personnel Management (DPM) Secretary, John Kali, has cautioned the Special Parliamentary Committee on Public Sector Reform and Service Delivery on one of its preliminary recommendation to tie in teachers leave fares into the fortnightly salary of teachers.

He said that it would be specifically denied in the General Orders and contracts.

In his own recommendations to the committee in its hearings last week, Secretary Kali suggested for fares to be outsourced to travel agents.

“One of my strong proposals is not to convert the airfare into a salary, because it is going to be abused,” Secretary Kali said.

“It defeats the whole purpose of why people want to go on leave, and because it is not duty related allowance- it should not be transferred or transformed into a salary.”

“Once you do that then you become eligible for tax, when the fares are not supposed to be taxable.”

“My suggestion to the committee is to look at these other options other then including it as part of the salary; otherwise people will just forget about it and never use it to reunite with their family which was the initial purpose of the fares.”

He said that Internal Revenue Commission had recognized and enabled an employer under the Tax Act to make payment of an employee’s leave fares into and employee’s ‘Travel Account’, held by a bona fide Travel Agent.

“The said travel agent undertakes to never pay out the entitlement to the employee in cash and only to utilize the money for travel and accommodation purposes,” the public service boss said.

Among his other recommendations, he said under the arrangement the Teaching Service Commission and Education Department tender for travel agents to take on the administration of teachers leave and repatriation fares.

“The travel agents must have offices in all main provincial centers to facilitate easy access without travel to Waigani.”

“All parties enter in Joint Venture arrangement whereby teachers nominate the agent contracted, agent opens travel account for the teacher, and where they are informed of their leave dates no later than a month by the department so that fares are paid to the agency and into the travel accounts.”

He said that the system would provide flexibility between the teacher and the agent and even enables fares to be accumulated and used for travel elsewhere to destinations anywhere in the world.