Daniel Kombuk is the new Acting Secretary for the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL).
The Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Benny Allan, made the announcement at a press conference on the 2ndApril, 2019.
Kombuk is not new to DAL. In fact, he worked for the department for over 27 years mainly as a food crops advisor specialising in citrus development.
In making the announcement, Minister Allan welcomed Kombuk and urged him to move the department and agriculture sector to a new level. He said Kombuk is an experienced agriculturalist and will be expected to utilize his knowledge and skills to serve the department and the sector with full distinction and achievements.
He also thanked the outgoing Acting Secretary, Francis Daink, for his best performance in the past nine months and urged Mr Kombuk to take on from where Daink had left. Daink returns to his substantive position as Deputy Secretary for Policy and Planning.
Allan also called on the Deputy Secretaries and staff of DAL to work closely and co-operate with the new Acting Secretary to get the best results and achievements for DAL and the sector. He urged everyone to put aside their differences and support Kombuk in his efforts to lead the department to another level. Agriculture is a big sector and with the Government’s priority on the sector, everyone in DAL is expected to perform to the best of their ability, he said.
Minister Allan said many new initiatives and projects have been started and he wanted DAL staff to work with Kombuk to complete these important tasks, which included sorting out the Commodity Boards, revitalizing the livestock subsector, promoting coffee and cocoa through the World Bank-funded PPAP, supporting FAO’s activities, and others.,
Kombuk thanked the Minister for the formal announcement and said he would work closely with DAL staff to put the department back on track and continue the good work it is already doing for the sector and the country. He also thanked Mr Daink for his efforts and assured that he would continue what has already been commenced. He said he needed the support of every individual officer to lift the image of DAL and the sector and he wanted nothing less that total commitment from everyone.