The Public sector reform process in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Papua New Guinea has been undergoing a major process of public sector reform since 1999, with substantial donor assistance. With the proliferation of new programs, new initiatives and restructuring, however, it has been difficult, even for senior civil servants, to keep up with the changes being introduced, and it is sometimes hard for outsiders to judge whether a new initiative represents an active program or simply a good idea which may be forgotten or diverted before its implementation. Moreover, with a fairly high level of staff turnover, poor documentation processes, and weak institutional memories, and donors frequently poorly informed about the past history of public sector reform, there has been some tendency to overlook the potential lessons of past failures and successes