A TONGAN Commonwealth Officer from New Zealand has been appointed as Police Commander for New Ireland Province replacing Chief Superintendent Albert Beli of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC).
Police Commissioner David Manning, when announcing the appointment, said Chief Superintendent Siaosi (George) Fanamanu brings experience, a disciplined approach, and an understanding of Pacific policing.
“These Commonwealth Police are important for the RPNGC as they bring an unbiased approach to our communities, share policing methods from other countries, and have a desire to play their role in improving law and order in PNG,” said Manning.
PPC Fanamanu becomes the eighth officer from the Commonwealth of Police to take up a Commanding role in Papua New Guinea and said his priority is building relationships with community leaders and their people.
“I am a Pacific man who was raised in the traditions of my people, gained my policing skills in New Zealand, and now I have the opportunity to serve my brothers and sisters of PNG. I believe that police work begins and ends in local communities, Churches, women’s groups and youth organizations, and that will be my focus with our Provincial Command,” said PPC Fanamanu.
Manning said with the recruitment of Commonwealth Officers, PRNGC aims to bring in personnel that have traditional policing values, deep cultural understanding, and will execute their authority without fear or favour to enforce the law.
“There are several requests from Provincial Governments to appoint Commonwealth Police to their areas, particularly where there are serious crime issues. We are implementing the Commonwealth Police Program carefully so that we only recruit personnel that are the right fit for our country, and can work effectively alongside all personnel as we continue to restore discipline in the RPNGC,” said Manning.
In New Zeland Fanamanu worked from dealing with chronic law and order issues including youth crime, family violence and confrontations between ethnic groups.
At a regional level he served as the Team Leader for the Solomon Island Police Support Programme and in the Tonga Police Development Programme.
Manning said Fanamanu will make an effective contribution at a community level and as part of the reforms underway in the RPNGC.
The move to appoint Commonwealth police officers to hold senior positions in the RPNGC is aimed at improving community policing and rebuilding the public trust in police.
The first Commonwealth police officers from the Australian Federal Police were appointed in 2025 and joined the National Fraud Squad followed by Provincial Police Commanders of Enga and East New Britain. Though Papua New Guinea was the last Pacific country to sign the Pacific Policing Initiative, the Marape government has made it clearthat it will continue to appoint cCommonwealth officers to senior roles in the RPNGC.
Commissioner Manning said the Commonwealth Police personnel are integrated into the RPNGC’s command structure and have been posted into line positions with the same policing authority as the PNG personnel they serve alongside.
“We are upgrading the RPNGC by dismissing personnel who are unfit for service, training more than 1,400 recruits each year, improving the skills of existing offices, and enhancing the force with Commonwealth Police officers,” said Manning.
The other commonwealth officers hold positions in the Internal Affairs Division, the National Fraud and Anti‑Corruption Directorate, Crimes Division, Water Police and Provincial Commands.
“Importantly, our rank-and-file Police members have a positive response to serving with Commonwealth Officers, who have been selected through a rigorous recruitment process, and there is mutual respect for each other,” said Manning.