THERE will be changes in the civil service but only after an audit by international consultants. Prime Minister Rear Admiral (Ret) Voreqe Bainimarama says these will definitely not be a purge.
Mr Bainimarama elaborated more on the proposed reforms in the public sector at Friday night’s Public Service Excellence Awards.
“The first stage of the process involves an international group of consultants moving through the system and identifying areas in which we can do things better.
“Then will come the implementation phase, the changes. Some of it may be challenging but it will also open up new opportunities for many of you,” Mr Bainimarama said.
“If you are doing your job well, you have nothing to fear. But we are going to work with you to make some changes so that you can do your job better.
“Improve standards of efficiency and service delivery, streamline certain operations, cut down on red tape, oil the government machine so that we all work better together and provide the Fijian people with the best possible service and return on their taxes.”
Government intends to introduce different pay structures which recognise specialised skills and encourages others to acquire them.
Mr Bainimarama said Fiji had to transform into a modern and dynamic state and be a genuine beacon of good governance in the region.
“I realise that there may be a degree of trepidation on the part of some civil servants about what we might be planning. That’s only natural, especially in a bureaucracy where the very idea of change tends to be resisted,” he said.
“People get used to the way things are and the way things have always been done, sometimes even when they recognise that those things might have outlived their usefulness. It’s human nature to resist getting outside your comfort zone.
“But I want to assure you all that we intend to do these reforms properly.”
