PORT VILA, 24th May 2024. The Public Service Commission through the office of the Secretary has endorsed a 360-degree assessment to be conducted on all Senior Executives Officers 2023 Performance Agreement.
The Public Service Commission in its 10th meeting of 2024 approved the 360-degree approach to be undertaken for the assessment of the Director Generals, Directors, Provincial Secretary Generals and Town Clerks Performance Agreement. The assessment will begin on the 27th of May to 31st of May 2024.
As per Public Service Act CAP 246, section 18, subsection 1 stated that ‘the Commission may appoint a person to be a director or appoint a person to a position equivalent to the position of director. Subsection 1A also stated that ‘the Commission is to conduct performance appraisal annually for each person appointed under subsection (1)’. Hence the 360-degree assessment was initiated to enhance the management and a thorough verification of performance of these senior executive officers.

In addition, the Acting Secretary of the OPSC, Mr. Jonathan Iavere consulted with Executive Officers (EO’s) from all government line agencies earlier this week with the emphasis on their participation for this vital activity as it is the time of the year for the annual review of 2023/2024 performance for all employees serving under the Public Service.
“EO’s are expected to provide evidence according to the PA’s as it is essential for the transparency and accountability of these senior executive officers performances, this will also include inputs from stakeholders of each line ministries,” he said.
“This approach will fortify the documentation of Ministries annual reports and the overall performance of the ministries.”
The Public Service Commission’s commitment to improving its service delivery through effective and innovative ways is part of the reform process within the OPSC.
PORT VILA, 24th May 2024. The Public Service Commission through the office of the Secretary has endorsed a 360-degree assessment to be conducted on all Senior Executives Officers 2023 Performance Agreement.

The Public Service Commission in its 10th meeting of 2024 approved the 360-degree approach to be undertaken for the assessment of the Director Generals, Directors, Provincial Secretary Generals and Town Clerks Performance Agreement. The assessment will begin on the 27th of May to 31st of May 2024.
As per Public Service Act CAP 246, section 18, subsection 1 stated that ‘the Commission may appoint a person to be a director or appoint a person to a position equivalent to the position of director. Subsection 1A also stated that ‘the Commission is to conduct performance appraisal annually for each person appointed under subsection (1)’. Hence the 360-degree assessment was initiated to enhance the management and a thorough verification of performance of these senior executive officers.
In addition, the Acting Secretary of the OPSC, Mr. Jonathan Iavere consulted with Executive Officers (EO’s) from all government line agencies earlier this week with the emphasis on their participation for this vital activity as it is the time of the year for the annual review of 2023/2024 performance for all employees serving under the Public Service.
“EO’s are expected to provide evidence according to the PA’s as it is essential for the transparency and accountability of these senior executive officers performances, this will also include inputs from stakeholders of each line ministries,” he said.

“This approach will fortify the documentation of Ministries annual reports and the overall performance of the ministries.”
The Public Service Commission’s commitment to improving its service delivery through effective and innovative ways is part of the reform process within the OPSC.

OPSC Reviews Fleet & Housing Policies for Enhanced Management

PORT VILA, 24^th May 2024. The Office of the Public Service Commission (OPSC) conducted a comprehensive review of its draft Fleet and Housing Policies, with the goal of enhancing management practices and ensuring optimal utilization of resources.

Under the leadership of its recently appointed Manager, Ridley Magmui, Principal Fleet officer Mr. Steve Tete, Principal Housing officer Mr. Charlie Harrison together with a comprehensive committee, comprising representatives from the Department of Lands, Department of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has meticulously evaluated the existing Fleet and Housing Policies on May 6^th and 7^th, 2024.

The objective is to align these policies with the reviewed Public Service Staff Manual as well as the Public Service Act, Road worthiness Act, Lands Value Act and PFEM Act, thereby strengthening OPSC’s governance framework.

These policies, developed in collaboration with key stakeholders, marking a significant milestone in OPSC’s commitment to effectively managed the asset of the government of the Republic of Vanuatu.

The Fleet Policy is designed to bolster the management of government vehicles focusing on key areas such as procurement, valuation, and standards in terms of trade-in and sale of government fleet.

Similarly, the Housing policy serves to improve the allocation and management of government housing. Through a structured process overseen by the Housing Committee that was recently endorsed by the Public Service Commission, the OPSC Housing Officers will ensure fair and transparent allocation of housing to entitled and eligible government employees only serving under the PSC. This will also facilitate better management of tenancies and timely renovation of government houses.

The Public Service Commission through the office of the Secretary of OPSC  is collaborating with other three (3) commissions namely the Teaching Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission and the Vanuatu Police Service commission on matters relating to fleet as well as housing.

The Office of the Public Service Commission conducts Panel of Peers Performance Management Review Training.

PORT VILA, 17th May 2024. The Office of the Public Service Commission conducted a Performance Management Review workshop for the Panel of Peers to commence the assessment of the Performance Agreement of Director Generals, Provincial Secretary Generals and Town Clerk on the 16th of May 2024.

The Office of the Public Commission has facilitated the assessment workshop for the Panel of Peers as part of the reform process within the Public Service Commission.

In his opening remarks, the Acting Secretary of the OPSC Mr. Jonathan Iavere reiterated that the Performance Agreement of DGs, Provincial SGs and Town Clerk is a priority agenda of the Vanuatu government.

“The PSC as the main employer arm of the government must ensure that all its senior public servants are duly carrying out their roles and responsibilities and are performing according to their Performance Agreements,” he said.

“PSC is a neutral and independent body according to Article 60.4 of the Constitution and seeks to run a fair and just assessment of its senior public servant’s performance.”

The PSC recognizes the Panel of Peers as a pool of highly intellectual and technical officers who are still effectively serving the Republic of Vanuatu and those who were former public servants who served under the PSC.

Mr. Iavere stated that all the duties implemented are aligned with the Public Service Staff Regulation Manual (PSSRM) and linked to the Decentralization policy of the Government.

“At PSC, we want to make sure service delivery is done in a manner that is efficient and effective to the people of Vanuatu and that is captured in the PA of the DGs, Provincial SGs and Town Clerk,” he said.

“They as the heads of government line agencies must ensure that the specific services under their jurisdiction are aligned with the NSDP, Corporate Plans, Annual Business Plans (against approved Budget appropriations) and Provincial Business Plans and that these services must be decentralized.”

The Panel of Peers Performance Management Review workshop is the preparatory stage where members were informed of their roles to undertake the assessment on the Performance Agreement of the senior public servants.

The workshop also featured presentations from Transparency International Vanuatu to ensure the Panel of Peers are transparent and fair when making assessment, the Department of Finance on the process of Central Tender Board, government budget cycle and dates and the PFEM Act so they have a clear understanding when conducting assessment, the Department of Strategic Planning, Policy & Aid Coordination (DSPPAC) on the project cycle, process of grant application, period of grant approval and the NSDP. The OPSC (HRM unit) presented the process of Performance Agreement and the Vanuatu National Audit Office presented how to conduct assessment and the importance of report submission.

PORT VILA, 27th March 2024.

The Vanuatu Office of the Public Service Commission has signed another Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian Public Service Commission on March 27th, 2024.
The signing of the MoU took place in Canberra, Sydney through an invitation from the Australian PSC to the OPSC.
OPSC delegation to Canberra on a trip of four days comprised of the Chairman of PSC, Mr. Martin Mahe, Human Resource Manager Mr. Stephane Bong, VIPAM Principal Scholarship Officer Mr. Pierrick Lesines, Senior Compliance Officer Mr. Lucien Nirambath and the Director of OPSC’s newly established unit- Innovation and Policy Development Unit, Mr. Jean Yves Bibi.
The delegation led by Chairman Mr. Mahe departed for Canberra on March 24th as invited to meet with the Commissioner of the Australian PSC, Dr Gordon De Brouwer and First Assistant Commissioner, Jo Talbot and signed the MoU on the 25th of March.
This MoU is established for a closer cooperation through a working relationship with the objective of an internship and secondment program for public servants, employment of the spouse of the employee involved in the internship or secondment program which also include their children attending school in Australia, free visa for public servant travelling to Australia and their immediate family and placement of the public servant in the Australia Public Service. The MoU also included the provision of technical support between the two parties.
During their visit, the OSPC delegation were involved in trainings facilitated by the Australian PSC on Integrity/Trust in Government training by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Australian PSC and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Monitoring and Evaluation Center of Excellence training by the Department of Treasury. A Performance and Talent Management and Leadership and Talent Development training was undertaken by the team for two days.
Mr. Mahe and his team met with the Deputy Commissioner, Dr Subho Banerjee and met with the Acting Executive Director International, Ingrid Nielsen and deliberated on relevant training opportunities and future engagement between the APSC and VPSC.
In addition, the team had the opportunity to go through a Workforce Capability training that will assist them in building capacity of professions and pathways, building digital capability and digital traineeship program.
Acting Secretary of the office of the PSC Mr. Jonathan Iavere reiterates that PSC firmly stands to ensure it has the best advice and capacity building opportunities from its neighboring states that Vanuatu already has partnerships with them.