Vele Ila’ava is new DAL acting Secretary

By MALUM NALU

Department of Agriculture and Livestock has a new acting Secretary.

He is Dr Vele Pat Ila’ava from Viriolo village, Central province.

New DAL acting Secretary Dr Vele Ila'ava

Ila’ava, a former CEO of the Cocoa Coconut Institute and team leader of the technical advisory team involved in preparing PNG Vision 2050, took office as of Monday, Jan 16.

He replaces Anton Benjamin, who has been acting in the position after his contract expired last year.

During a brief handover ceremony, Ila’ava commended Benjamin for his leadership and contribution to the department, commodity institutions and the agriculture sector in general.

Ila’ava said his immediate task was to position the department to provide the leadership and assistance for key stakeholders in the sector to get on with their activities and business.

He is committed to establishing a positive and constructive dialogue with key stakeholders in the sector and is looking forward to working with them.

He said as a key player in the nation’s PNG Vision 2050, the challenge for the department and the agriculture sector was how best to leverage and manage the huge financial gains from the energy and mining sectors to build a vibrant and sustainable economy for the future.

Ila’ava met with senior management of DAL and outlined his plans for the department as expected by the government.

He has instructed senior officers to work on one impact project for each of the 20 provinces, which would be submitted for funding through the National Agriculture Development Programme.

After planning the road map and work plan for the next three months, he plans to meet with commodity boards, donors and private sector next month.