SILAG Management farewells longest serving staff of 43 years – Ms. Lucy Au

Lucy Bundu Au from the Northern Province joined the Somare Institute of Leadership and Governance (SILAG) in 1979, back then known as the PNG Administrative college. Lucy was 20 years old at the time when she left her first employer the Public Service Commission and joined SILAG as a student Admin clerk. She has occupied senior management positions in the last 43 years she has worked with SILAG. She was appointed as OIC for Student Admin, OIC Revenue Finance section, OIC Registry and Acted on so many senior positions including Acting Building and Facilities Manager from 2018-2019.

In 2019, Ms. Au was appointed as the Acting GESI Business Project Coordinator. Around the same time, the position GESI & Industrial Relations Officer was created, and this is the current position she occupies. During the time that she has been the GESI officer, her office managed to have come up with four internal polices which Ms. Au leaves behind as her legacy. These policies include:

1. Family sexual violence

2. Child Protection

3. Disability Policy

4. Harassment Policy

Ms. Au is one of the very few individuals who have witnessed the changes that have taken place from the time the Institute was known as PNG Administraive college to PNGIPA, then to Pacific Institute of Leadership Governance and now to Somare Institute of Leadership and Governance

Ms. Au recalls the first time she joined the Institute, she remembers the campus was filled with multi-racial people from Australia, Africa, Asia and other Pacific Countries and a few Papua New Guineans were among those that strived to be the first trained public servants in the country. She said the Administration College then had more than 600 students and the campus was always filled with noise and students running back and forth to classes.

She stayed on to see to see the Administration College transitioned to PNGIPA, further changed to PILAG and then to SILAG with new management coming in. Ms. Au’s greatest achievement according to her is contributing and being part of the Institute’s transitions and policies that came with it up until today.

She had a couple of role models that she looked up to who have left SILAG already, except for one whom she had the honor to recruit. Ms. Au said the SILAG CEO Mr. Michael Barobe will always be a role model to her. She described Mr. Barobe as a natural born leader with no nonsense and that is something she admires about Mr. Barobe. She said it is through Mr. Barobe strict leadership that a lot has changed for Institute and SILAG is now recognized has the only mandated school of government. SILAG has come a long way just as Ms. Au’s journey, and she believes a lot more can be achieved under Mr. Barobe’s leadership.

An emotional Ms. Lucy Au said SILAG has always been the second home to her and her family. She raised all her children her, lost her loved ones while working and living at SILAG. She said SILAG has shaped her personal life and her professional career into something she may never have achieved if she had worked somewhere else. For 43 years, Ms. Au has been walking up and down the main campus and the staff residential area and this is the only place Ms. Au is familiar with compared to her own home province or family home. From a 20-year-old to now a 65-year-old about to leave her second home, it has been memorable journey for Ms. Au who has lived through the challenges and the positive changes not only for SILAG but for the whole country.

Before taking the final bow and exiting SILAG, Ms. Au is grateful to the past and current management for their leadership and mentoring her throughout the years. She appreciates the management and her colleagues who believed in her and have worked side by side with her through the good and bad times.

She leaves this piece of advice to the young staff that have just recently joined SILAG.

“Work hard and work smart, learn as much as you can. Every day comes with new challenges, take on those challenges and focus on progress.”

Ms. Lucy Au is among three other retirees who were farewelled yesterday by the SILAG CEO, Management and staff.

? Job Minan

? Samual Yangu

? Wesley Waninara

Each retiree was gifted with gifts such as laptop, printer, generator set and their retirement funds.

The CEO also took time out to award high performing staff for the 3rd and 4th quarter of the year.

The CEO and SILAG management see that it is important to recognize individuals who have performed above and beyond through an award ceremony.