APEC allowance paid

A complainant who was engaged during the Asia Pacific Corporation (APEC) meeting in 2018 had alleged that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) and the APEC Authority have prolonged the payment of APEC allowances.

The complainant was engaged as one of the media liaison officers in the APEC meeting. She claimed that the non-payment of allowances was unreasonably delayed.

The Ombudsman Commission did an initial assessment and found the complaint to be genuine and notified the head of department (DFAT) of its intention to investigate the matter in August 2019. After a follow-up in October of the same year, the Commission issued a Section 18(1) of the Organic Law on the Ombudsman Commission (OLOC) notice to the acting Secretary of DFAT Ms Barbara Age in January 2020. Section 18(1) of the OLOC gives the Com-mission the power to summon a person to provide infor-mation in relation to a matter that the Commission is investigating.

Ms Age responded to the Commission‟s notice for delay and non-payment of allowances in February 2020. She formally advised the Commission that DFAT had paid a total of K75, 600 to all 32 officers from 16 – 19 December 2019.

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