Cabinet has appointed senior bureaucrat Agafili Shem Leo the interim Chairman of the National Emergency Operation Centre [N.E.O.C.].

The Government Press Secretariat advised of the appointment of the Ministry of Prime Minister and Cabinet C.E.O. in a media statement released Thursday afternoon.

Agafili takes over from the former Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment [M.N.R.E.] chief executive officer, Ulu Bismarck Crawley, who recently resigned.

He is also the Chair of the National Security Committee which works closely with the N.E.O.C and all other sectors in the area of security.

According to the Government Press Secretariat, the N.E.O.C. leads the Government’s coordination and responses to disasters. 

Beginning September last year, the N.E.O.C. has been at the forefront of the coordination of national efforts and emergency responses to the measles outbreak and the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that followed. 

The N.E.O.C. operates in line with the requirements of the relevant laws and the National Disaster Management Plan.