BY MEROL YN TEN
The Chief Ombudsman Commissioner Richard Pagen has confirmed that a countless number of complaints from the public were received and registered on the case of Justin Tkatchenko and his daughter Savannah. He said this in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands province while attending the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing meeting that complaints had come from all over Papua New Guinea and his office is looking into the matter.
“We are wearing that cap as leaders come under our jurisdiction, and we have taken on board the public concerns,” Mr Pagen said. He said he could not tell Papua New Guineans how far the matter was, or where it was now because the important part was that they had met with the Member for Moresby South and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Tkatchenko and have placed him where he is supposed to be now.
He said the matter was registered and addressed. It was also still with the Ombudsman Commission’s office to apply
the Ombudsman Commission Bill penalties that was passed last week in Parliament. “The public should trust us that the matter is now with the Ombudsman Commission and we are bound by rules and laws to do our diligent duty without being caught breaching the rules. Otherwise, when we breach or we do not comply with those laws, there are technical issues that can come in so we have to comply with ‘those laws to thoroughly deal with the matter and move on,” he said.
The article is taken from: Yn Ten, Merol. “Watchdog on Tkatchnko complaints.” Post- Courier, 19 Jun. 2023, p. 36.
