Public officers who comment against gov’t face disciplinary action

Public servants who allegedly made comments against the government on social media will be referred to relevant authorities for appropriate disciplinary actions, Permanent Secretary of Public Service Nego Sisiolo said in a circular widely issued today.

The circular memo which was issued only a week after the Cabinet agreed to suspend facebook hand dated today is addressed to all permanent secretaries, the private secretary to the Governor General, Clerk to National Parliament, Auditor General, Provincial Secretaries, Chief Executive Officers, Heads of Departments and Human Resource Managers.

In the notice, Sisiolo said the SIG-Public Service is deeply concerned that a number of public servants are alleged to have made comments against government decisions in the social media online and those officers will be referred to relevant authorities for appropriate actions.

He said in compliance with the General Orders: “I hereby urged all public officers to refrain from making statements or comments on government policies in the social media online that are deemed as political matters, insulting the government, inflammatory against the government and endangering the national security of Solomon Islands.”

Sisiolo said as public servants employed by SIG, “We are required to remain neutral in our conduct, serving the SIG with undivided loyalty in the course of discharging our duties. Any officer who breached the above provisions shall be deemed as misconduct in office and shall be disciplined accordingly under currently enforced regulations.

However, having said that, Sisiolo stated that public officers may in his capacity publish or make comments on subject matters that not in anyway connected with his/her official duties or relating to political administrative matters.