Assistant Minister Sakiusa Tubuna has urged more than 80 state-owned entities to use local talent in leadership roles over reliance on experts from overseas.
In an address to a Higher Salaries Commission seminar in Suva yesterday, Mr Tubuna urged chairpersons and senior officials in government entities to prioritise the recruitment and training of local professionals, warning that over-reliance on overseas expertise hindered national development and sustainability.
“There are so many people here, but sometimes we say we don’t have the capacity,” he said.
“But make sure you use local talent because we are training local people to be empowered so that they can take up leadership roles.
“If you train overseas people, no disrespect, they’ve got experience and so forth, but you’re not adequately empowering our local people and that’s what we want to see.”
Mr Tubuna said the determination of remuneration demanded a balance between the need to attract and retain required skills with what the organisation could afford and sustain.
He emphasised the need to promote accountability in recruitment, foster a performance-based culture and establish robust systems for monitoring and rewarding public sector performance.
