Update: 5:55PM THE lack of data and information sharing to further development agenda among Government departments and agencies is an issue, says Minister of Lands and Mineral Resources permanent secretary and Geospatial Council chair Malakai Finau.
He highlighted this on Thursday during the quarterly Fiji Geospatial Information Management Council meeting held at the Great Council of Chiefs Complex in Suva.
Mr Finau reiterated the call to share crucial and relevant data.
“Data sharing has been an issue and a point that I would like to raise today as it has been a challenge for the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources, as we are hosts of the Vanua GIS portal and I hope that this council comes to an agreement on the way forward,” he said.
“Though we have launched the Vanua GIS portal, there is still a lot of improvement needed for it and work to be done so far as the back end is concerned; and the information that is readily available on it as we will rely on your support to further enhance it.”
A consensus was reached by the council to commit to the sharing of data, with agreements that other topical issues raised during the meeting be discussed in more depth at smaller separate meetings, which focussed solely on those raised issues.
Members of the forum also discussed ways to better collaborate with each other in order to gain access to vital data that would enhance their respective areas of expertise.
Representatives from the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, Fiji Elections Office, Fiji Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Sugar and Sugar Tribunal, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forests, Ministry of Fisheries and key agencies like Water Authority of Fiji, Fiji Electricity Authority, Fiji Roads Authority, iTaukei Lands Trust Board with academic from the University of the South Pacific attended the meeting.
