The newly sworn-in Public Service Commission Chief Executive Officer has picked labour mobility as a priority area he will focus on to streamline service delivery.

Kolone Tikeri was one of the 11 newly appointed Government Chief Executive Officers who took their oath of office at the TATTE building on Tuesday following the approval of the Cabinet. 

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, Mr. Tikeri said one of the major challenges facing the P.S.C. is labour mobility which he is keen to address now that he is in the top job. 

"There are quite a few challenges that our public service have seen at the moment with labour mobility and we are doing a review to realign the services of the government," he said. 

According to the top bureaucrat, realigning the resources of the P.S.C. is vital so that they can do more with less to mitigate the financial constraints faced by the organisation. 

"The three pillars that the P.S.C. are prioritising at the moment are leadership development, good governance, and performance and efforts and these are the things that we hope to put in place to solve some of the challenges that we face.

"The challenges specifically are labour mobility, shortage of supply in some of the priority areas, especially the technical side, our health systems and our educational system are also part of what we intend to target."

Mr. Tikeri upon taking his oath expressed his gratitude to the Samoa government for putting their trust in him to take on the role and promised to serve with honour and dignity.

"It's been an honour and a privilege to be called for this position and this service today reaffirms our commitment to serve our country through the positions that we have been selected to serve in," he said.

"So we are grateful to the government for the trust that has been given to us to do our role and we promise to do our best using our skills and abilities to serve our country."

In March this year, the Cabinet appointed Mr. Tikeri as the C.E.O. for the P.S.C. for eight years after the position was dissolved by the former administration.

Nine candidates were interviewed for the position at the P.S.C. with Mr. Tikeri eventually got the nod. The new appointee graduated with a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Newcastle in Australia in 2021. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management, Economics, and Public Administration from The University of the South Pacific (U.S.P.).

Mr. Tikeri started his career at the P.S.C. and worked there for four years and was also the principal officer for human resources and administration within the Ministry of Women, Community, and Social Development. 

He also worked as the human resource advisor for the Samoa Water Authority and then became the first manager of the authority's corporate services division. 

The 40-year-old hails from the villages of Lalomanu, Aleipata, and Vaitoloa and is currently an administrative specialist with the United Nations Environment Programme (U.N.D.P.) at its Pacific office in Apia. 

The reinstatement of the position of the C.E.O. to the commission is part of the current government's long-term vision and reforms for human resource capacity and professional development for the public service. 

The position was advertised in a special advertisement published by the Commission in January this year and all interested candidates had until 3 February 2023 to make submissions. 

The salary scale for the position ranges from SAT$124,444 to SAT$129,854 per annum and was advertised together with the top positions for the Ministry of Customs and Revenue and the Samoa Law Reform Commission.