Office of the Official Trustee

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT

The Official Trustee reports to the Minister for Justice, the Attorney General of Papua New Guinea, and the Secretary for Finance in the overall discharge of his Statutory Duties.  He also reports all non-Statutory administrative duties as branch head to the Departmental Secretary for Justice and Attorney General (if the Justice Minister in not an admitted Lawyer).

STATUTORY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The office of the Official Trustee is vested with Statutory Powers to administer several legislations which either falls respectively under Public Curators Responsibilities or Official Trustees Responsibilities:

• Under the Public Curators Responsibilities, the Public Curators Act and the Wills Probate and Administration Act are administered. These two legislations govern the Administration of Deceased, Insane or Missing person’s Estates in Papua New Guinea.  The dominant responsibility of the Public Curator covers administration of the Estates of Deceased persons who die “intestate” (someone who dies without a written will) 98. % of Papua New Guineans die intestate
• Under the Official Trustee’s responsibilities, the Public Curator perform Trusteeship duties pertaining to Persons Declared Insolvent, Minors Trusts under the age of 21 or other Trustee Responsibilities as stipulated under the Trustees Act and any other Act that may stipulate a role for the National Official Trustee

CORPORATE IMAGE OF THE OFFICE

Like other potential Trustee Bodies, the office projects a Potential Image for Corporatization.

1. Its Mission statement.

To provide Honest, Transparent Trusteeship to the people of PNG in Deceased estate Trust, Minors Trust, Insolvent Persons Trust, Mentally Insane Persons Trust, Missing Persons Estates Trust, General Trust services.

1. Goal.

                   To win and maintain the Public’s Trust for trusteeship Services.

1. Its Objectives.

                   Sound Management of Trust funds – Quality management.

                   Sound Strategy of Public Support and Awareness – Quality

                   Relationship.

Transparent accountability of Trusteeship Responsibility –

Accountable feedback.

1. Its Vision.

An environment conducive for Faith, Hope, Trust and Assurance

for tomorrow’s generation to depend upon and feel secure.

Future Tasks

1. Ministerial Support.

In view of the incomplete tasks pending, the hopes of the office’s corporate plan becoming a reality depends entirely on his Honor the new Minister for Justice.  The level of support necessary to move forward is a follows:-

• The Honorable Minister for Justice to seek and gain support from the NEC to accept the Public Curator’s NEC Submission for immediate separation and Corporatization of the Office of the Public Curator of PNG.
• The Honorable, Minister to seek NEC approval for the amendments of both the Public Curator’s Act and the Wills Probate and Administration Act.
• The Honorable Minister’s support to get the support of NEC and the Minister for Public Service to accept and endorse the Public Curators restructure and reconstruction Plan to be accepted under the 2007 budget funding.

1. Corporatization.

                   Reasons for urgent Corporatization of the office are as follows:

2. The Public Curator’s Act, Chapter 81 appears to have been adopted from a similar act from Australia. Its intention and purpose was for all practical reasons – Responsible TRUSTEESHIP.  This intention has been completely overlooked by the Department and only treated as another Branch within the Department whose simple role was to collect, distribute and Administer Deceased peoples’ assets, properties ets.
3. The above point (c.1) has seen that the Public Curators Office was not fully and adequately supported with the appropriate tools and Human Resources and more importantly the “Enabling Legislative Provisions” to allow it to function as a Corporation Sole as stipulated in the Act.  With the growth and development of the country resulting in increased wealth through employment, the demand for higher and more prudent levels of Administration of deceased Estates also increased, yet the Department allowed the office to remain as a simple Branch only to facilitate beneficiary payments.  The Accumulated result of this ignorance and oversight of the departments is as follows:

 Over 700 properties of deceased persons nationwide not properly administered and discharged. Some are over 15 years old and now either run down or occupied by illegal occupants and titles transferred unawares.

• Twenty-Seven Million Kina in loss of deceased estate funds through theft, misappropriation or over-payments. The Department’s Custodial Role of the office and its perception of the office as another Branch blinded it to see the enormous responsibilities of the office, thus, the Public Curator was forced to live within the provisions of the Annual Department Budget to baby sit a huge elephant, which appears to be growing every year.

Unless the office is corporatized to function as a Corporation Sole as Stipulated in the Act, there will never be any hope for this office to meet the demands of a modernized PNG and its deceased wealth Administration and Distribution.“Corporatization and Independence of the office is the only remedy to ensure that the office lives up to its real purpose”.