Public servants from across the Pacific attended the Fale’s latest online Share Learn Connect session, Managing Conflicts of Interest in Pacific Public Services.
Kireata Meauke, Director, Kiribati Public Service Office (PSO) shared how the Kiribati PSO manages conflicts of interest including describing the frameworks that underpin their recruitment processes, keeping them transparent, honest and fair. Highlighting the Kiribati recruitment process flowchart, detailing the steps they follow and what happens if these rules are broken.
Kireata explained how conflicts of interest in recruitment are managed by building checks into each stage of the process, rather than relying solely on people to declare conflicts. This is important in all public service contexts, including the Pacific where family, village and personal connections are common.
Key checks include:
- Public Service Office approval before recruitment proceeds
- Independent observers to support fairness and transparency
- Formal conflict declarations and panel adjustments where needed
- Anonymous testing, documented decisions and investigations if rules are broken.
These checks show that a clear process, good records, oversight and consequences help ensure integrity is reflected in recruitment processes and public trust and confidence is retained.
Dean Rosson, Manager, Public Service Fale, discussed a case study from a recent investigation he was involved with where conflicts of interest during the procurement process involved an agency granting contracts to a provider whose managing director was the partner of the agency Chief Executive. His presentation included lessons learned from the investigation and a framework to manage conflicts of interest.
Dean highlighted that conflicts of interest are common and do not mean anyone has done anything wrong - they just need to be managed. Declaring or naming a conflict of interest is not enough. A conflict is managed by understanding the risk and putting credible controls around it. You need to be proactive.
A short question and answer session after each presentation followed by smaller group discussions provided opportunities for questions, discussions and sharing of views and experiences. Some initial reflections from the evaluation included:
“The different but somewhat similar cases and situations with other neighbouring countries in the Pacific, a comment that was made that sat with me is that - one person may wear many hats; in a small community”
“Involvement of PICs for their ways of dealing with COI (conflicts of interest) and good international exposure”
If you missed the session, the recording and the two presentations are available on FaleOnline: Course: Share Learn Connect | Managing Conflicts of Interest
Kam rabwa to Kireata, Kiribati PSO, Dean Rosson, and those that attended and contributed to this rich discussion on Conflicts of Interest.
Coming up! Our next Share Learn Connect session focusses on Confidentiality. We look forward to exploring further how effective public service practice and Pacific values intersect. If you have other topics to suggest or would like to share your experiences in a future session, please contact the Fale.
We look forward to connecting again for future sessions.