PROVINCIAL Secretary (PS) to the Rennell/Bellona province government has denied claims he was handpicked by the Premier Collin Singamoana to fill up the position.
Rubin Ngiumoana yesterday defended his appointment saying the position is like transferring from one government post to another, since he is a senior government officer from one of the government ministries he was asked by the Renbell premier Collin Singamoana to take up the PS post, basing the decision on experienced-wise.
Ngiumoana was questioned by Renbell non-executive members for his recruitment, claiming the job was never adhered to the public service procedures in selecting the right person based on merit.
Despite of that Mr Ngiumoana said he was recommended by the premier on the view that he has a lot of experiences working with the previous Renbel government, hence equipped him well with the knowledge help directing the province leadership on the right direction.
He further stated that his appointment was done on a recommendation letter by Singamoana to the Ministry of Provincial Government, where they approved his candidacy for the PS post, which he said, is like transferring from one public service post to another.
“Based on the fact that I’m a level 13 public servant with long term experiences with the provincial government the authorities agrees on my transfer from the Human Resource (HR) position in the Climate Change division at the Ministry of Environment to the PS post for Rennell & Bellona province,” he clarified.
“Hence this was not advertised and I was never interviewed for the position,” Mr Ngiumoana added.
By AATAI JOHN
