PIONEER STATE SERVANT TOKANA HASAVI SNR, FIRST JIWAKA ADMINISTRATOR, PASSES ON
THE Hasavi family, with deep sorrow but profound pride in a life of dedicated service to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, formally announces the passing of their beloved patriarch, leader, and statesman, Mr. Tokana Hasavi Snr. Mr. Hasavi’s passing this week on Tuesday, 4th August 2026, at the Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae City.
According to a statement from the family, Mr Hasavi was passed on after a long and courageous battle with illness.
A Lifetime Devoted to State-Building the Late Hasavi was leaves behind a towering, historic legacy in the public service and administrative development of Papua New Guinea.
From Morobe, he served during the pre-Independence Era (1970 – 1972) with distinction as a patrol officer during the critical transitional years prior to self-governance, laying the essential foundation for grassroots law and order.
Post-Independence Service as Lae City Manager (1986 – 1991) and dedicated decades of his life to municipal and regional governance, including his tenure as Lae City Manager, Chairman, and Mayor.
The late Hasavi played a monumental national role as the National Coordinator for the Jiwaka Transitional Authority. Working closely alongside the Late Chairman Jamie Maxton Graham and the Chairman for the Hela Transitional Authority (now Prime Minister), Hon. James Marape, he orchestrated the administrative birth of the country’s newest provinces.
He was appointed as the historic first Provincial Administrator of Jiwaka Province, in 2012 successfully establishing the entire public service machinery in Kurumul.and later returning his immense administrative expertise to his home province, he served with distinction as the Chief of Staff to the former Governor of Morobe, Hon. Ginson Saonu, managing the political, policy, and executive machinery of the provincial government.
Demonstrating his lifelong commitment to the nation, he answered his final civic call this past June, when he was sworn in as a member of the newly overhauled Morobe Liquor Licensing Commission Board.
The family of Late Tokana Hasavi described their father as a true pioneer who believed completely in the potential of Papua New Guinea. From the remote patrol posts of the 1970s to the administrative halls of Kurumul and Lae, he gave everything to this country.
As the family mourn the passing of a loving father and a grand leader, they also celebrate a lifetime of unbroken integrity and service to the nation.
The Hasavi family extends an open invitation to all extended family, line departments, former public service colleagues, state officials, and friends to join them in honoring his memory, at the Giamsaoc House, Eriku, Lae.
