Prime Minister Sogavare acted against caucus decision in appointing his nephew as chief of staff, an abolished position, documents show

 

PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare personally appointed his nephew, Robson Tana Djokovic, as his Chief of Staff (COS) knowing full well the position was abolished by Caucus six months earlier, documents obtained by Island Sun have revealed.

The revelation is the first damning evidence yet that the DCC Government Coalition is no longer governed by conventions, including the Political Parties Integrity Act of 2014.

The documents suggest Mr Sogavare not only acted alone but had ignored the official Caucus decision abolishing the position at its meeting on March 7, 2016.

Prime Minister Sogavare attended the meeting, according to the Caucus Minutes, marked confidential.

The revelation is expected to send shock waves through the three-year-old DCC Government coalition, with the potential of breaking up the shaky coalition, which in recent months seems to have lost steam in terms of policy direction.

Island Sun has obtained a copy of Mr Tana’s appointment letter dated August 28, 2016 as well as the Minutes of Government Caucus meeting of March 7, 2016, marked confidential.

Mr Tana’s appointment letter was personally signed by Mr Sogavare.

In it, he said,

“I am pleased to inform you that Caucus has agreed to your appointment as the Chief of Staff in the Political Office of the Prime Minister. The process to get you formally appointed by the Public Service Commission is underway. While waiting for this appointment to go through I agree that you start working with immediate effect. By copy of this letter, the Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of Government Caucus and Secretary to Cabinet, who is currently acting SPM are duly inform(ed). Please report to the Deputy Prime Minister.”

“Caucus never agreed to anything except for abolishing the post of Chief of Staff,” those familiar with the matter said yesterday.

“As a matter of fact, abolishing the COS post is the only thing Caucus had agreed at its meeting on 07th March 2016,” one said.

“There was never any discussion at all. It was all a one-man decision to hire his nephew, knowing full well the position of Caucus on the Chief of Staff post.”

Caucus made three conclusions at the March meeting.

These include Conclusion C which “ENDORSED That the position of COS in the Policy Implementation and Monitoring Unit be abolished”, according to the Caucus Minutes, marked confidential.

That Caucus meeting was attended by 22 MPs, largely Ministers including Mr Sogavare himself. The Chairman of Caucus Jackson Fiulaua MP, his Deputy Namson Tran MP also attended.

Six MPs were absent, including two who were reported sick, the Caucus Minutes show.

The Office of the Prime Minister could not be reached for comments last night.